Lots 3 to 13 in this sale come from the collection of René Lyr.
René Lyr was a man of many talents. He was not only a poet and art critic, but also an essayist, lyricist, musicologist, and illustrator. Born in Couvin in 1887, his real name was René Vanderhaeghe, and he published his first collection of poems at the age of 20. In addition to his work as a poet, which earned him the Prix Paul Verlaine from the Académie Française in 1957, his contribution to Belgian literature was particularly rich and fruitful. Co-founder of the magazine La Renaissance d'Occident in 1920, he was also a correspondent for Le Mercure de France for more than 10 years. A prolific art critic, he maintained numerous relationships and correspondences with artists, in particular James Ensor and Louis Thévenet. Evidence of this closeness to artists can be seen in the many portraits of him by James Ensor, Jean Brusselmans, Jos Albert, and Jean Laudy.
