Julien ’t Felt (1874, Ghent – 1933, Antwerp) Julien ’t Felt was the youngest son of Charles ’t Felt, the founder of the ’t Felt printing company. That’s where Julien ’t Felt first drew on the stone as a five-year-old.

From 1888 to 1894 he studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in his native Antwerp. He was taught by Charles Boom, Edward de Jans, Jan-Willem Rosier, Albert de Vriendt and Karel Verlat. Towards the end of his studies, ’t Felt focused on drawing portraits and animals.

Paintings by ’t Felt were on display for the first time at the Antwerp World Exhibition of 1894. T’ Felt was a painter that continued to work in the line of tradition. He achieved success mainly in the field of applied arts. In 1897, t’ Felt drew twelve didactic plates for the Royal Zoological Society. Around that time he also designed silverware for the blacksmith Junes. From 1912 onwards, ’t Felt designed a large number of posters for the theaters in Antwerp and Brussels and for artists who performed in the Scala variety theater. He drew posters for popular plays, on which text could be printed afterwards depending on the company that performed the play.

In 1914, ’t Felt fled to the Netherlands. In The Hague he moved in with the sculptor Toon Dupuis and became a member of the Pulchri art circle. The following year, ’t Felt traveled to England and from there to Rouen and Le Havre in France. He painted portraits of English officers and war scenes.

Upon his return to Antwerp in 1919, the printing house was largely emptied, possibly an act of revenge because he had made fun of the German aggressor with numerous cartoons before the fall of Antwerp. ’t Felt rented the printing house to the Patria publishing house, for which he also started working himself. He also drew film posters and illustrations for the publishers; ‘Op de Beeck’ and ‘Dupuis’.

Later, ’t Felt sold his printing company to the Delko stone printing company on Lange Koepoortstraat. He took up permanent employment there himself. As a draftsman of posters for films, ‘t Felt stands out above all his colleagues from the Interwar period. His work is exceptional in both quality and quantity. He was the oldest and most experienced employee of the Delko company and was assigned the most assignments. In this way he contributed to the national success of this litho company.