Fernand Khnopff was born in Grembergen-lez-Termonde, Belgium, in 1858, into a family connected to Franz Joseph of Austria and the Russian nobility. Undoubtedly influenced by his family environment, he began studying law at the University of Brussels, but soon abandoned his studies to enter the Academy of Fine Arts, under the tutelage of Xavier Mellery, a painter who guided the young Khnopff toward Symbolist aesthetics. In 1877, he traveled to Paris, where he admired the works of Delacroix, Gustave Moreau, and the Pre-Raphaelites. Of particular note is the influence of Edward Burne-Jones, a painter with whom Khnopff maintained a close relationship throughout his life, as evidenced by his 1896 painting, *Study of a Woman*, which includes a dedication to the British artist.
After his time in Paris, Khnopff actively participated in the vibrant artistic scene of Brussels, which flourished at the end of the 19th century, as evidenced by his founding of the Les XX circle in 1883. As part of the fin-de-siècle European cultural movement, he also developed an interest in the occult, actively collaborating with the First Rosicrucian Salon, organized by the mystic Joséphin Péladan in 1892, as well as with subsequent editions. During his lifetime, Khnopff came to be considered a true arbiter of taste and artistic trends in Brussels, capable of combining his most personal and cryptic paintings with refined portraits of Belgian society of his time, including those closest to royalty. Evidence of the importance of his role includes his solo exhibition at the Hanover Gallerie in London, his collaboration with The Studio magazine, and above all the enormous critical success his work achieved at the Vienna Secession exhibition of 1898, with which he introduced his work to fin-de-siècle Vienna, another major cultural center during the end of the century.
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