Oostende door de lens van Antony

Abstract

Maurice Antony (1883-1963) and his younger brother Robert Antony (1885-1966) occupy a special place with their oeuvre among the great Belgian photographers of the first half of the 20th century. Their poignant images of the devastation of Ypres at the start of the First World War went around the world. From 1919 the Antonys settled in Ostend, where they were close eyewitnesses to life in the fashionable seaside resort. With their keen eye and sense of aesthetics, they recorded in their photo reports the activity of the local population, the port, the fishing industry and the ins and outs of the fine fleur who visited Ostend during the interwar period. The Kursaal, the Zeedijk and the beach life, the harbor, the racecourse and other sporting events, the many festivities. They were all reviewed. We owe unique recordings by Léon Spilliaert, Constant Permeke and James Ensor to the friendly contacts that Maurice Antony maintained with the Ostend artists. Maurice's personal friendship with Ensor in particular yielded an exceptional art-historical treasure of photographs of the master in his daily environment.