Maurice Langaskens, born in Ghent as the son of a furniture maker, started his education at the École des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. He continued his studies at the Academie voor Schone Kunsten in Brussels from 1901 till 1905. An exceptionally skilled draftsman, Langaskens earned several prices, including a study trip to Italy in 1904. By 1907, his painting Orpheus was exhibited alongside works by Fernand Khnopff and Puvis de Chavannes. The following year, he participated in the Salon Pour l’Art, and in 1909, he was included in an exhibition at the Brussels Museum. By 1912, he exhibited at Brussels’ Cercle Artistique and was an established artist, securing major commissions. The outbreak of World War I abruptly interrupted his thriving career.

On August 1, 1914, Langaskens was drafted into the Belgian Army. Within ten days, he was captured by the Germans and interned as a prisoner of war, initially at Sennelager, then Münsterlager, and finally at Göttingen. While the early conditions in the overcrowded prisons were dire, the Germans soon allowed the prisoners to receive food and packages sent from home and work in the local industry to replace the workforce at war. Langaskens became one of the most prolific artists in captivity, though his subject matter shifted to reflect prison life. The Germans supported the arts by offering supplies and organizing traveling exhibitions of works created in the camps, including those by Langaskens.

Initially, Langaskens worked on any scrap paper he could find. By the time he reached Göttingen, artists’ studios were established within the prison encampment.[1] Instead of mythology and mundane matters, Langaskens stories transitioned to documenting the world around him. In captivity, Langaskens executed the monumental triptych Repose en paix (Rest in Peace), commemorating the death and burial of fellow soldier Camille Decraemer, who succumbed to a heart condition in the camp.

To maintain morale, the Germans allowed all kinds of activities in the camp: schools, performing arts, and sports.[2] Performances by the camp orchestra and theater company were particularly popular, with weekly new shows. Donations allowed the prisoners to decorate the barracks, and provide wigs, costumes, props, and set designs. Especially comedies were well-received; humor serving as a vital coping mechanism for the prisoners.

Visual arts also offered a welcome distraction: an empty barrack would function as an exhibition space. Although Langaskens continued his artistic career through World War II, his most significant achievements remain the works created during his internment: his portraits of fellow prisoners and their daily activities offering profound insight into camp life.

The present watercolor documents the play Confused (In de war), performed at Münsterlager, near Hannover, on December 11, 1915. With no women in the camps, male prisoners took on female roles, following theatrical traditions of Shakespeare or the Japanese kabuki theater. These performances required skill in cross-dressing and mimicking feminine mannerism—improvised costumes were made from sheets or donated clothing. The role of the female boss, Mrs. Peeters, was played by Willem Derix, founder of the Flemish drama group.[3] Four other drawings depicting actors from the same play surfaced at auction in 2019. Another drawing from the series is in the Flanders Fields Museum, Ieper, the principal repository of Langaskens’ works.

[1] Jan de Wilde, a.o., Maurice Langaskens 1884-1946, Stedelijk Museum, Ieper, Belgium, 2003, p. 44

[2] De Wilde, op.cit., p. 58

[3] Another portrait of Willem Dierix from 1915 is also kept in the Ieper museum: Maurice Langaskens, De stichter - Le fondateur du Vlaamsche Tooneelkring, Willem Derix, watercolor and pencil on paper, 30.7 x 25.8 cm., Flanders Fields Museum, Ieper, object no. IFF 001328