Crespin - Paul Hankar Architecte - (1897).

Artist: Adolphe Crespin (1859-1944)
Title: Paul Hankar Architecte.
Date of printing: 1897.
Technique: Original chromolithography

Adolphe Crespin (1859-1944) was a Belgian painter, decorator and poster-designer during the Belgian era of the Art Nouveau. He was mainly active in Brussels and one of the renowned masters of the art-nouveau-sgrafitto along with Paul Cauchie, Privat Livemont and Gabriel van Dievoet.

Adolphe Crespin was trained at the Academy of Arts in Sint-Joost-ten-Node, where he met Privat Livemont, Paul Saintenoy and Leon Govaerts. He continued his studies at the School of Decorative Arts of the Royal Acadamy. He was one of the earliest propagandists of the Japonisme-movement in Belgium. He became the teachter of painter Henri Evenepoel at the Royal Acadamy of Arts in Brussels. Evenepoel would paint the portrait of Crespin’s spouse. The architect Paul Hankar was one of Crespin’s assistants.