Fernand Khnopff (Belgian, 1858–1921) was a leading figure of Belgian Symbolism, known for his haunting portraits, ethereal women, and dreamlike interiors. Born in Grembergen and raised in Bruges, he drew lifelong inspiration from the city's stillness and faded grandeur.
Trained in Brussels and shaped by time in Paris, Khnopff developed a meticulous style that blurred memory, desire, and myth. A founding member of the avant-garde group Les XX, he embraced Symbolism’s moodier edges—silence, solitude, and introspection rendered in velvet tones and exacting detail.
He worked across painting, illustration, and stage design, often returning to the same icons: his sister Marguerite, the mask, the mirror. Cool, cerebral, and enigmatic, Khnopff didn’t paint reality; he painted how it felt to remember it.
