(1843-1910)
PierreCharles van der Stappen was born in Steenokkerzeel, northeast of Brussels, on 19 December 1843. A student of Jean Portaels in 1857, he became a professor of sculpture and, in 1898, director of the Académie royale des Beaux-Arts. He collaborated with Constantin Meunier in completing sculptural decoration of the Jardin Botanique. A statue of Saint Michael the Archangel, sculpted by van der Stappen in 1893, stands in the east wing of the Hôtel de Ville. Van der Stappen is known for the wide variety of materials he employed, including marble, stone, bronze, silver, and gold. He died in Brussels on 21 October 1910.
Historical Dictionary of Brussels. Paul F. State.