Painter of allegorical and mythological scenes, decorative panels but also lithographer under the pseudonym "Hamner", Herman Jean Joseph Richir (1866-1942) was first and foremost a portrait painter appreciated by the high society of the time and to whom we owe in particular several portraits of the Belgian royal family.
Herman Richir was born on November 4th in the Belgian city of Elsene.
First he studied at the Academy of Sint-Joost-ten-Node ltaught by Gustave Biot and Charles Hermans, then he went to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels under the direction of Jean-François Portaels.