Victor Rousseau was born in Feluy, Belgium on 16 December 1865. He came from a family of stonemasons and began carving stone at the age of eleven. He was sent to Brussels to work on the construction of the Palace of Justice, under the direction of the architect Poelaert and subsequently worked as a stonecutter for seven years. He trained in the workshop of the decorative sculptor Georges Hanstout while at the same time taking classes at the Académie Royale des Beaux-arts, in Brussels. In 1890, he entered the Godecharle Tourmente de la pensee competition and won the prize which would help him travel to England, France and Italy. He spent two years in Paris and several months in Florence. In France he encountered Art Nouveau which was to influence his work.
In 1901 Rousseau was appointed Professor of Sculpture at the Académie royale des beaux-arts in Brussels, a position he held until 1919. From 1919 to 1922 and from 1931 to 1935 he was Director of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Brussels.
During a career that spanned some fifty years, Rousseau created numerous public monuments and statues, and collaborating with a number of architects including Victor Horta (1861-1947). He exhibited in Brussels, London, Edinburgh, Madrid and in the United States.
He died in Forest, Belgium on 17 March 1954.
Text source: Arts + Architecture Profiles from Art History Research net (AHRnet) https://www.arthistoryresearch.net/
