Jean-Claude SERVAIS Rétrospective

For more than four decades, Jean-Claude Servais has been exploring the tenuous boundaries that separate fantasy from reality. His work, which is deeply rooted in the landscapes of the Ardennes and of his native Gaume region, sets up a conversation between the natural and the human worlds and the world of storytelling and myth. The valleys, forests and rivers he depicts are never mere backdrops: the breathe, they watch, they whisper stories of long ago.

This retrospective exhibition brings together for the first time an exceptional collection of original plates from Servais? most iconic albums. Through titles such as Tendre Violette, Seins de café, Isabelle, La Lettre froissée and La Tchalette, we grasp the rich complexity of a life?s work where mystery interweaves with human emotion.

Servais excels in the art of chiaroscruo ? not only in his graphic mastery, but also in his ability to reveal the shadows that dwell within us. His characters, often female, navigate between vulnerability and strength, between a yearning for freedom and a profound attachment to the places that shaped them. Whether he draws on folk legends, historical events, or personal dramas, Servais always succeeds in conveying, with exquisite delicacy, just what it means to be human.

This retrospective exhibition invites visitors to explore the entire body of Jean-Claude Servais? work ? from the earliest albums with their mediculous observation of everyday life to the epic, sweeping frescoes where elemental forces hold sway. Seen at first hand, his original plates give us a real sense of how the artist has evolved, and how he is constantly refining his approach. The plates shown here enable us to penetrate to the very heart of his creative process. What strikes us is the precision of his line work, how effectively he frames his images, and his treatment of light, the way it sculpts bodies and structures landscapes. And what we discover too ? this shuttling back and forth between documentary realism and sheer poetry ? is the very trademark of Jean-Claude Servais? oeuvre.

Opening
Wednesday 18 February 2026 
from 6:00 p.m
in the presence of the artist

Exhibition
From Thursday 19 February 2026 
to Saturday 28 March 2026

Bruxelles | Châtelain
33 place du Châtelain, 1050 Bruxelles
Tuesday > Saturday
11.00 am ? 7.00 pm