This exhibition centres on a friendship that helped change the course of art. When Gustave De Smet fled to the Netherlands during the First World War, he crossed paths with Leo Gestel. What followed was no ordinary introduction but a spark that set both painters in motion. Ideas flew, styles shifted, boundaries blurred and nothing stayed untouched.

A few years later, the roles reversed. Gestel travelled to Flanders and found in De Smet a place to work, think and push forward. The result? Two artists who kept each other sharp, lifted one another up and carved out a new chapter in modern art together.

No fewer than seven works by Gustave De Smet from The Phoebus Foundation’s collection join this story.

The exhibition runs until 13 September 2026 at Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar.