A Life of Light and Letters Born Anna Virginie Caroline Cogen in Ghent, the woman who would become Anna De Weert moved through a world defined by intellectual and artistic rigor. Her upbringing was shaped by an environment where art was as much a part of daily life as literature. With uncles who were established painters and a grandfather known for his writing, her path toward the canvas seemed almost predestical. She grew up in the care of her mother and grandmother after her father passed away when she was only two years old. These early years in Ghent provided a foundation of watercolor p…