Jan Frans De Boever was a classical Belgian symbolist painter heavily influenced by the poetry and literature of the 16th and 17th century.

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Most of De Boever's paintings are of literary and allegorical/mythological subjects that reflect romantic imagery, depicting the constant universal struggle of good vs. evil. Many of these subjects are symbolically illustrated as beautiful art nouveau women (good), interacting with skeletons, demons or gargoyles (evil).

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DeBoever took great pride in constructing his own frames for the paintings, many paintings in this exhibition retain the original DeBoever frames. Some have the original labels with poetry and phrasing describing the symbolic