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Marcel Daniel Seys, (Flemish 12 January 1899 - 5 April 1972) watercolourist, Architect, and founder member of 'De Uyl' Puppet Theatre group of Belgium.

Art
Between 1910 - 1911 in his first year of study at Industry and Trade School (Nijverheids - en Handelsschool) at the age of 11, he got a drawing first prize presented by Joseph Neutens. Marcel then studied at the Brugge Academy for Arts.

As a painter Marcel Seys and about his architectural studies little is to be found. We think this is because of the uncertain time around the First World War (1914-1918). The works left by Marcel Seys were painted in a rather short period, from 1927 to 1939. In that period he had several exhibitions of his work. The years after he hardly produced any new work (why is a riddle to everyone and only known to the artist who stayed therefore a ' promising ' artist for the rest of his life). About the quality of his work the following analyses can be obtained, based on several publications in the press. Marcel Seys is a promising artist, especially as a water colourist. His work is honest and very expressive, decorative and made with a minimum of means. With his style he accomplishes subtle and delicate effects. His water colours have a grand set up. By adding whites to his colours he creates a rich variety of shades. (1929) His work balances between simple lines and more synthetic spaces. There is no effort of simple copying reality, his work is very emotional and mystical. He expresses himself in a lyrical and simple style. Harmony and balance grow in Marcel Seys' work to quiet images, especially in his winter landscapes in which he sometimes uses daring details. (1933 ) In this period Marcel Seys is called a ' true impressionist and master of lines', whatever this means. His children's heads are expressive and very well caught, his etchings are transparent, delicate and very fine. He rarely paints anymore interiors, which is a cause of negative criticism. He has to transform his vague, mystical world in a strong male style to become a great artist. (1930 ) From 1933 - 1934 Marcel Seys started to paint landscapes. Again he did not paint directly as a copy of nature but transformed nature to his own fantasies. In fact: “He is well known and is named by critics as probably the best of all known water colourists. His work balances between simple decorative and a wider synthetic. He presents his longing for beauty in a lyrical, simple style. He is a true impressionist and a master of lines. His craftsman ship is shown in soft expressions. In his winter landscapes he creates different moods through harmony and balance. Sometimes he uses daring details for example two white stone border poles as vertical supports for his painting. Marcel Seys finds himself in a stadium of great opportunities for strong synthetic landscape art. The danger lies in a too strong, too much synthetically generated art. Most of his work expresses a natural way of painting images, supported by great craftsmenship. ( H. Cayman, 1933 ) Fond of fine, subtle and delicate effects he started off and made name as a water colourist. In his oils he is searching for the same, familiar effects. In using the purest and brightest colours in his works, he reminds us of the colour harmonies in work by Leo Paret. Marcel Seys'' work is envied for its unity, a mark for craftsman ship. There is a realistic tendency that opens the way to become a great artist in oils too. (1934) As a citizen of Bruges Marcel Seys has got the ability to get to the soul of the subjects he paints. There is no sign of banality or common "copy art”. The young artist shows in his work how well he knows Bruges. Many artists fail to show how beautiful Bruges really is because they lack the right temperament. Marcel Seys shows us what Bruges is really like and shows it to us in all its beauty. Through the use of delicate colours he shows that he is a citizen of Bruges and that he loves his city. People say Bruges is dead, but Marcel Seys knows every little comer of the city and revives old weathered stones, shows that once people used to live there, prayed there, fought there. (1930) We are of the opinion that most titles of his work do not refer to Bruges but to a pompous and slavish way of giving titles as taught at the Academy. We think of: Le Noyer, Brouillard du Soir, Bruges la Princiere, Jour brumeux, Avondnevels, Winterslaap, Een Brug, En Vensterken, Onze Vrouwken, Beuk in de Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk. Marcel Seys was a relatively good artist especially in water colours, still he did not achieve at a very high level. He is never the less a perfect member of what is not always realistically referred to as ' de Brugse school'.

Robert de Laere

Life
Marcel Daniel Marie Seys was born in Bruges on the 12th of January 1899, the son of Adolphe Joseph ( Bruges 1866 - 1923 ), civil servant of Bruges' post office and Leonie Ameye ( Zwevegem 1865 - Bruges 1928 ). They lived at Maagdenstraat 37. Marcel Seys married Imelda Bouchez ( Bruges 1903 - Hoogstraten 1985 ) on the 29th of July 1922 at Sint - Andries. In the beginning they lived at Korte Ridderstraat 3 and from 1924 at the Hoedenmakersstraat 16 at Bruges. They did not have any children of their own but did raise the son of a cousin, Florent De Schinkel ( Gravelines 1918 - Wilrijk 1990 ) who left for Malle after his marriage.

From 1921 on he was also a teacher at the Vrij Technisch Instituut, at the Boeveriestraat in Bruges. The following information comes from those years: Marcel Seys was a teacher at the evening school of the V.T.I, at Bruges from the 1st of September 1921 to the 30th of September 1937. He taught technical drawing and technical skills (department B6-B2 = wood carving and theory), for 32 weeks (4 hours per week). From the 1st of October 1937 to the 31st of August 1942 he worked at the same evening school. He was then a teacher of technical skills and drawing ( department B6-B5 ) for 28 weeks (4 hours per week). These lessons were very practical and aimed at a lower level, especially for plumbers and other workmen. He did the same from the 1st of September 1942 to the 31st of August 1945, but now for 20 weeks (2 hours per week).

Political Views
After the Second World War Marcel Seys and his wife were taken into custody because of their sympathies for the Germans and the Flemish cause and were locked up in Sint - Kruis. At the time they already lived in a spacious house with a studio called ' De Lelie ' Nieuwstraat 23 ( now called Geervelde ) at Assebroek. The house was referred to as ' the little castle ' because of the fact that it was situated quite far from the road and people used to walk in and out. Marcel Seys died at Assebroek on the 5th of April 1972 and some months later his widow moved to Westmalle.

Architecture
1912-1913 In his first year of a Construction and Building course he was awarded a second honorary certificate in architecture by Etienne Timmery, .1913 - 1920 He was not registered. Whether he attended more courses and/ or studies is not know. After ' an exam ' he took in the Twenties he got a job at the Ministry of Public Works where he became head architect.

De Uyl
In 1939 the priest of the Sint Kristoffel church at Assebroek founded a puppet theatre/company called ' Den Uyl'. Marcel Seys, together with civil servant Jozef De Berdt and graphic/ illustrator Gerard Scheipe, was one of the first members, puppeteer and painter/ designer of the scenery. Their last performance was in 1980. Willy De Zutter writes of their performances: The puppetry existed of 32 wooden puppets handmade by the sculptor Koos van der Kaay ( Leiden 1899 - Bruges 1976 ) who came to live in Bruges before the beginning of the Second World War and who already was well known at the time. The Company ' Den Uyl' existed of 12 to 15 puppeteers and technicians and was quite famous at the end of the seventies. Roger Arys and Raoul Zwaenepoel gave the puppets and props to the City's Museum for Social Studies in Bruges in 1988.

We can add to this that the puppets were made by Koos van der Kaay using the designs of Marcel Seys. The best known puppet, de Stekvooie, was modelled in clay by Marcel Seys and carved in wood by an (until this day) unknown sculptor. Marcel Seys also painted all the scenery they used.