Bernard Ernest French BOSSCHAERT, artist or painter, is born in Wervik (West-Flanders) on 8 November 1933, as the son of Albert Lucien (trade representative) and Gabriëlle Renie Antoinette Vervish. Bernard is the older brother of Renaat Bosschaert. He lives in Assebroek near to Brugge. He is married in Assebroek on 2 June 1962, with Colette Esther Ballegeer, born in Bruges on the 3 March 1935, daughter of Cyriel August and Alice Alleyn.

At the early age of 15, Bosschaert began his formal art training at the Academie van Schone Kunsten in Leiden (The Netherlands).
After finishing his studies at the academy, he moved to Bruges to open his studio. He began his career as a landscape painter exhibiting a strong influence from both the French impressionists and the Barbizon school.
Bosschaert was not afraid of color. His first works were met with critical acclaim and enormous success. Using his palette and the magic of his brush, he captured light and its relationship to shadows mixed with the gentle nuances of the changing seasons. He would then transform these blank canvases into richly colorful landscapes capturing the ever-changing earthy atmosphere of Belgium and France.
Bernard Bosschaert would continue to study and travel. His paintings began to include small Dutch villages, beach scenes near Knokke-Heist (on the North Sea). He would even include the streets of Paris, as one of his subjects. However, it was Bruges that had won to his heart. He discovered that all he had to do was walk out of his studio door to find an endless source of subject matter.

In the past, Bruges was referred to it, as the "Venice of the North." The old city was known by its colorful lively flower market, lazy canals, shadowy windmills and romantic Dutch architecture. Bernard Bosschaert would begin to translate his feelings for this wonderful old forgotten city from his heart to his canvas. With these ‘translations on canvas’ this young artist gained his success and would bring the world to his door in Bruges.

Bosschaert soon was invited to join numerous artist groups (Artists of Oostende, Horizon in Knokke-Heist, De Zeven Torentjes (The seven Towers) in Assebroek and Ten Putte in Lede). As a member of these artistic organizations, Bosschaert began participating in exhibitions throughout Belgium. He exhibited in Gistel, Bruges, Lissewege, Knokke, Oostende, Lede, Knokke-Heist, Ieper, Roeselare, Kortrijk, Gent, Antwerpen, Lille, Eindhoven (NL), and Aix-la Chapelle (FR).
He would also have individual exhibitions in Gistel, Lissewege, Bruges Knokke, Oostende, Lede, Roeselare and Maarkedal. From 1960 to 1989, The gallery Horizon in Heist (Knokke-Heist) would host an annual grand one-man exhibition for Bernard Bosschaert. The popularity of these exhibitions became more than he could sustain. After 140 one-man and group exhibitions, he decided to limit his exhibitions and only at one gallery in Knokke-Heist at the coast of Belgium.
Bernard Bosschaert’s paintings can be found in numerous private and public collections in Lille, Bruges, Paris, Cologne, Ontario, Milan, Amsterdam, Minnesota, and Dallas.

Fine Oldart CR Galleries Collection

Lazy Afternoon in Bruges, 50x60cm, Signed, L/r	The Old City, Bruges, 50x60cm, Signed, L/r	Reflections of a Weeping Tree, Bruges, 80x90cm, Signed, L/r
Canal Bridge, Bruges, 60x70cm Signed, L/r	Summer Shadows on the Canals, Bruges, 70x80cm, Signed, L/r	Afternoon Reflection, Bruges, 70x80cm, Signed, L/L

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