One of the most illustrious 19th century residents of the city of Spa was the art dealer Ernest Gambart. Before settling in Spa, Gambart’s London business unquestionably pioneered the commercial gallery system as is still in use today. Ernest Gambart, a Belgian dealer in paintings and publisher of prints, settled in London in 1840. In the three decades he would spend in England, Gambart became one of the most inventive entrepreneurs of his time, shaping the London art world along a new valorisation model. He created a new market for living artists. He ingeniously used contracts, copyrights and exhibition rights to monopolise the production and distribution of ‘his’ artists. At his heyday Gambart was the market, he was able to create and shape artists careers, like Rosa Bonheur’s, the French animal painter. After selling his London business Gambart wished to leave behind his image of a merchant, and bought two high quality residences in Spa and Nice. In both villas he nurtured his image of a generous Maecenas. In the Château d’Alsa in Spa he invited artists to come and take the waters at Spa. His art collection at his villas, furbished as real museums, was considered one of the best of Europe at the time, the perfect excuse to invite kings, queens, diplomats,… to parties in the landscaped gardens of the estates. His villa in Spa quickly gained cultured distinction, and was described in the society press as the “villa soleil des artistes”. Spa was only attractive for Gambart because of its colony of wealthy summer visitors, the beautiful villas with their lavish gardens and the unique attractions that Spa had to offer such as gambling, concerts and the healing waters. The spa baths were opened in 1868. On top of that Marie-Henriette, the wife of King Leopold II, also decided to live in Spa. Gambart had generously decorated her apartments with paintings on all her previous visits to Spa. After 1899 Gambart donated Château d’Alsa to a former mistress. On the occasion of his formally moving to Nice he donated two paintings to the city of Spa, one of which is a landscape by Euphrosine Beernaert. After his death in 1902 the estate was cut up in different properties.
Vermeir & Heiremans (Author)