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During In the those unsettled era following the first world war, when creative exploration flourished, commentators were captivated by the pseudonymous modernist Tour Donas. “One finds a certain allure in Tour Donas’s work that we are not accustomed to seeing in painters of his school,” noted a critic, “a kind of soft reserve that seems to reveal a feminine sensitivity.” The art, in reality, by a woman, namely the Belgian artist, a Belgian who adopted an androgynous pseudonym to get on in the art scene dominated by men.

Using this identity, she experienced a short yet brilliant period, before falling into obscurity. Today, the city of her birth showcases an extensive show to place her alongside modernist masters, together with Piet Mondrian and renowned creators. The display, launching shortly at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts (KMSKA), highlights over fifty pieces, including cubist artworks with rich hues, shimmering impressions of textiles, plus minimalist forms.

Abstract expression goes hand in hand with refinement,” a specialist stated. “There is a true quest for novelty, for innovation … alongside that is a powerful yearning, an appetite for classical beauty.”

In contrast to provocative modernists, the association were not radicals, as per the curator. A standout piece featured is the work The Dance, painted by the artist over 1918 and 1919. The work was considered lost, until discovered in Japan while organizing this exhibition.

Early Life and Challenges

Marthe Donas came into the world in 1885 into an affluent francophone household in Antwerp. A forebear practiced realism, but Donas’s father did not support her artistic ambitions; he removed her from her studies in 1902 very quickly.

A decade later, she resumed her education, set on becoming a painter, after a life-changing accident. A fall from a roof while attempting to see the monarch, who was visiting Antwerp, smashing through a glass ceiling on her way down. Her studies were halted by wartime events. Although her family left for the Netherlands, she traveled to Dublin, pursuing artistic training and discovered glass art. Following time in Paris, transformative for her style, depleting her resources, she relocated south as a drawing instructor to an affluent patron.

Creative Evolution and Partnership

She encountered Archipenko on the French Riviera. The pair soon clicked. He referred to her as “my best student” and started championing her work. She pioneered unconventionally formed artworks, art that avoided conventional shapes for uniquely shaped pictures accentuating cubist alterations.

Although contemporary shaped art usually associate with another European creator, experts believe she led the way among her peers to pioneer this innovative approach.

But her contribution was overlooked. At the time, cubist and abstract works were dominated by men; overly cerebral, too logical, for women.

Rediscovery and Impact

Over a hundred years later, she is finally being acknowledged. KMSKA, recently renovated, wants to promote artists who are women within its holdings. Before the revamp, a single work was held from her oeuvre, infrequently shown.

The exhibition mirrors an expanding trend to recover overlooked women artists, like earlier innovators. Similar shows have unveiled from dusty storerooms the works of more women spanning multiple eras.

An art historian has spent two decades trying to bring attention to Donas, praising “the grace, the colours, the innovation and the aesthetic” of her creations. A contributor involved in the project denounces the patronizing attitude of Donas’s contemporaries. Contrary to belief, she wasn’t “an inexperienced student” when she met Archipenko, but a 32-year old artist with her own voice.

Final Chapters and Legacy

The connection of the two artists concluded around 1921. Donas married and moved to rural Belgium; he moved overseas. She then vanished from the art scene for two decades from the late 1920s, following motherhood aged 45. Later in life, Donas played down the connection with Archipenko, stating it was just “a brief period in his workshop”.

This exhibition displays a stronger creative spark. It ends with two artworks: one by Donas reflecting an Archipenko sculpture she retained post-separation. The dynamic colors and forms of the two works work together, although specialists emphasize “she does something of her own, she didn’t imitate”.

• The exhibition Enchanting Modernism is hosted in Antwerp until 11 January 2026.