Paesaggio

Etching, 1877 circa, signed along upper margin in the image ‘I. Van dekorkhove d’apres mon fils Frits mort en 1873 a 10 ans et 11 mons’.

Frédéric Jean Louis Van de Kerkhove also known as Fritz Van de Kerckhove and as l'Enfant de Bruges (Sint-Kruis (Bruges), 4 September 1863 - there, 12 August 1873) was a Belgian painter-prodigy who died from hydrocephalus when he was - not 10 years and 11 months as Delanne believed, - but 9 years and 11 months – nearly 10. Fritz was the son of Jan Van de Kerkhove (1822 -1881), a Bruges grain merchant and amateur painter of genres and landscapes. Frederic’s landscapes were engraved by his father and sister and published in two bundles; both were published in 1877. 

The landscapes of Fritz Van de Kerkhove reveal a great delicacy and a beautiful sensitivity. 

Although Jan himself was a meritorious painter, he is best known for publishing the works of his son, who died at the age of 10, after his death. In his etchings he used the spelling Vandekerkhove. His name is also sometimes mentioned as Jean Van de Kerckhove.