VAN DER STAPPEN, PIERRECHARLES

(1843-1910)

PierreCharles van der Stappen was born in Steenokkerzeel, northeast of Brussels, on 19 December 1843. A student ofJean Portaelsin 1857, he became a professor ofsculptureand, in 1898, director of theAcadémie royale des Beaux-Arts. He collaborated withConstantin Meunierin completing sculptural decoration of theJardin Botanique. A statue of SaintMichael the Archangel, sculpted by van der Stappen in 1893, stands in the east wing of theHôtel de Ville. Van der Stappen is known for the wide variety of materials he employed, including marble, stone, bronze, silver, and gold. He died in Brussels on 21 October 1910.