August Vermeylen

Born in Brussels in 1872, August Vermeylen was a Belgian writer, art historian, and critic who played an important role in modern Flemish intellectual life. He is closely linked with the influential review Van Nu en Straks, where he helped shape a more outward-looking cultural vision for Flanders.

Vermeylen moved easily between literature, scholarship, and public life. He studied and wrote about art and culture, taught at the Université libre de Bruxelles, and later became the first rector of the Dutch-language Ghent University, a landmark moment in the history of higher education in Belgium.

He died in 1945, but his reputation has lasted because he was more than a novelist or essayist: he was a builder of ideas and institutions. His work is still remembered for pairing Flemish cultural commitment with curiosity about the wider world.