Jules Fonteyne

Jules Joseph Fonteyne (1878 –1964) was a Belgian (Flemish) painter, draftsman, etcher, book illustrator, and art education teacher.

Jules Fonteyne was born in Bruges as the son of Hippolyte Fonteyne and Emma Doutrepont. He grew up in an artistic environment. Both his father and his uncle Renon Fonteyne were sculptors, who shared a studio.

Hippolyte Fonteyne; engraved portrait by Jules Fonteyne

As an artist, Jules Fonteyne mastered various techniques: oil painting, pencil, pen, and charcoal drawing, as well as engraving and etching. In addition, he experimented with ceramics. He was also a photographer, although he used photography primarily as documentation to support his graphic oeuvre, rather than as an art form in itself. Nevertheless, several beautiful cityscapes of Bruges from the early twentieth century by him have been preserved.