A century ago, Belgian artist Marthe Donas carved out a niche for herself at the heart of the diverse and colourful European avant-garde. Today, her pioneering work is being shown in dialogue with work of Alexander Archipenko and other influential modernists.
Marthe Donas (1885–1967) grew up in an upper middle-class environment where there was little room for artistic ambitions. Nevertheless, she broke free, and emerged as the first internationally acclaimed Belgian female avant-garde artist. Shortly after the First World War, her authentic view of Cubism and her innovative compositions quickly earned her a key role in the international avant-garde.
In mid-1917, a lack of funds brings Donas to Nice, where she meets the already well-known sculptor Alexander Archipenko. In their search for artistic renewal, a connection sparks. Together they experiment with innovative ideas: Archipenko in sculptures and ‘sculpto-paintings’, Donas with shaped paintings. A unique cross-pollination between painting and sculpture.
Jointly, Donas and Archipenko take the lead in re-establishing La Section d'Or, an influential Cubist group that also includes major names such as Albert Gleizes, Fernand Léger, Natalia Goncharova and Marie Vassilieff. These artists advocated a more inclusive and diverse Cubism. More geometrically abstract variants found a place alongside colourful and more decorative Cubist styles.
The interwar period was a time of artistic friction and confrontation. In 1924 Paris saw the birth of Surrealism, a movement that strongly opposed the Cubism of La Section d’Or. Remarkably, the Belgian Surrealist René Magritte began his career within the Cubist tradition.
An early Cubo-Futurist work by Magritte is on display in Enchanting Modernism, serving as a bridge to our second major autumn exhibition: Magritte. La ligne de vie. In this exhibition, Magritte himself narrates the story behind his iconic surrealist works, based on an actual lecture he gave at the KMSKA in 1938.
Exhibition dates: From 4 October 2025 to 11 January 2026, KMSKA Antwerp
Main Image: Marthe Donas, De dans, Collectie Toyota Municipal Museum of Art © Marthe Donas Foundation, Ghent