Geert Bekaert

Geert Bekaert (1928–2016) was a Belgian architectural critic and writer on art and design. He was one of the most prolific non-fiction writers in the Dutch language of the late 20th-century. As a young man he was for some years a member of the Society of Jesus.

Bekaert's collected essays were published in nine volumes, 1985–2012. A selection of his essays has been published in English translation under the title Rooted in the Real (Ghent, 2008).

Biography
Shortly after the Second World War, in 1946, Bekaert joined the Society of Jesus. As a Jesuit, he pursued studies in classical philology, art history, theology, and philosophy. In 1950, he made his debut with a text on the work of sculptor Bert Servaes in De Linie a magazine published through Belgian-Dutch collaboration by the Society of Jesus. Bekaert continued to publish on art and architecture in "De Linie," as well as in "Streven" and "De Nieuwe Gids," other Belgian post-war magazines whose editorial boards were largely composed of Jesuit intellectuals.

In 1958, Bekaert curated the exhibition "Ars Sacra" at the St. Peter's Church in Leuven, in collaboration with art and design critic K.N. Elno. He then played a crucial role in the discussion and theoretical development regarding secularized art on one hand, and new, modern church architecture on the other, well into the late 1960s. In 1966, he published a book on the first theme titled "Pop: The Essence of Art", published by Davidsfonds. His first major book on church architecture, titled "In een of ander huis: Kerkbouw op een keerpunt," was published by Lannoo Publishing in 1967.

In 2006 Ghent University acquired his library for its Faculty of Engineering and Architecture.