Jan Carolus Bernardus SLUITERS(1881 - 1957)
Jan Carolus Bernardus SLUITERS
(Dutch, born Den Bosch 1881 – died Amsterdam 1957)
“Portrait of a Young Woman with a Green Headscarf“
Signed and dated lower right: ‘J. Sluiters 34’
Oil on panel,
Artist information:
Jan Sluijters was born on the 17th of December 1881 in the Dutch town of ‘s – Hertogenbosch. At the age of 17, he moved to Amsterdam, where he went to studying at the Rijksnormaalschool for drawing teachers and then at the Rijksakademie of fine art. Together with the upcoming artist Leo Gestel, he received lessons from Auguste Allebé and Nicolaas van der Waay.
In 1902, he became a member of the Amsterdam artist’s society ‘Arti et Amicitiae’ and finally settled as an independent artist.
In 1904, Sluijters wins the prestigious Prix de Rome and gets a scholarship for four years. The following year he leaves the Netherlands and travels via Brussels and Paris to Italy. In 1906, he becomes acquainted with the French avant-garde art. Upon his return to Amsterdam Sluijters developed himself into a pioneer of the Dutch modernism. He is working on painting luminist landscapes and cityscapes in bright, unmixed colours. His luminism reaches its climax in 1909 in the village of Heeze and especially as from 1910 in Laren.
In 1910 together with Conrad Kickert and Jan Toorop, they start the modern art society, with the primary aim to promote the foreign avant-garde in the Netherlands. In 1915, he stayed a month in Staphorst. There he depicts the Staphorster population and environment in expressive work with dark colours.
In the period after 1925, Jan Sluijters is characterized by a realistic style. His name is established and he is known as the portrait painter of the Netherlands. He finds his subjects close to home and directly depicts what he sees. Appreciation for his work increases within the coming years. His work is shown for the first time In 1927 retrospective at the Stedelijk Museum. Jan Sluijters died on May 8 1957.
Lit.: Dutch Art Lexicon P. Scheen, 1969, vol.2, page 354 – 355.
27 x 20.5 cm