Museum Gust De Smet

Museum Gust De Smet is a small municipal museum in Deurle, near Sint-Martens-Latem in Belgium, housed in the very home where painter Gust De Smet lived and worked from 1935 until his death in 1943. It is one of the most authentic places connected to the so-called second Latem school, the expressionist movement that flourished along the Leie river in the late 1920s and 1930s.

Who was Gust De Smet?

Gust De Smet (1877–1943) settled in Sint-Martens-Latem around 1908, drawn like many artists of his generation to the rural, picturesque landscape of the Leie valley. Together with Constant Permeke and Frits Van den Berghe, he formed the core of the second generation of the Latem school, known for an expressionist, simplified style depicting rural life, landscapes and human figures. In 1935 De Smet built a house in Deurle on a plot overlooking meadows, fields and woods, which became both his final home and his studio.

The house as a museum

Upon his death, the artist bequeathed his house, along with around a hundred works of art, to the municipality of Deurle. The museum officially opened on June 11, 1950, and the building still retains the character of a private artist's residence rather than a conventional, sterile gallery. On the ground floor, visitors can see a fully furnished living room, studio and bedroom, arranged to reflect De Smet's everyday life. Upstairs, the artworks are displayed thematically and chronologically, tracing the development of his output over the years.

What else there is to see

Beyond the paintings and furniture, the museum holds cabinets and chests of drawers that function as a kind of mini-archive, containing personal documents, De Smet's private library and everyday objects. This arrangement lets visitors get to know not only the painter's body of work, but also the context in which it was created — his interests, his reading, his material surroundings.

In 2016 the museum underwent a thorough renovation, modernizing the site while preserving the historical character of its interiors.

Why visit

Museum Gust De Smet offers an intimate look at the work of one of Belgium's leading expressionist painters in its original setting — the house he designed himself and where he spent his final years. It is also a good starting point for exploring the wider Sint-Martens-Latem and Deurle area, closely tied to the history of early 20th-century Flemish art, where other artists of the second Latem school were active around the same time.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Museum Gust De Smet located? In Deurle, part of the municipality of Sint-Martens-Latem, in the East Flanders province of Belgium.

How is this museum different from a typical art gallery? It occupies the artist's actual home and preserves furnished rooms — a living room, studio and bedroom — alongside exhibition spaces showing his paintings.

When did the museum open? Officially on June 11, 1950, following Gust De Smet's bequest.

Have the interiors been renovated? Yes, the museum underwent a thorough renovation in 2016.