Adrianus Hendrikus "Arie" “Jacques” Witjens (11 April 1881 – 7 December 1956) was a Dutch painter known for his landscapes, cityscapes and figures of his native Netherlands and Argentina, where he lived after 1920.

Early life and education

Witjens was born in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

in 1881 and began to study painting aged 14. He studied at the

Royal Academy of Art, The Hague The Royal Academy of Art (, KABK) is an art and design academy in The Hague, offering programs at both the Education in the Netherlands, HBO bachelor's and master's levels, as well as PhD programs. Succeeding the ''Haagsche Teeken-Academie'' (pa ...

, and privately with

August Allebé August Allebé (19 April 1838 – 10 January 1927) was an artist and teacher from the Northern Netherlands. His early paintings were in a romanticism, romantic style, but in his later work he was an exponent of realism (arts), realism and impress ...

who was professor and director of the

Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten The Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten (State Academy of Fine Arts) was founded in 1870 in Amsterdam. It is a classical academy, a place where philosophers, academics and artists meet to test and exchange ideas and knowledge. The school supports ...

(State Academy of Fine Arts). In 1901 he opened his studio located near

Mauritshuis The Mauritshuis (, ; ) is an art museum in The Hague, Netherlands. The museum houses the Royal Cabinet of Paintings which consists of 854 objects, mostly Dutch Golden Age paintings. The collection contains works by Johannes Vermeer, Rembrandt van ...

and was part of the second generation of the

Hague School The Hague School () is a group of artists who lived and worked in The Hague between 1860 and 1890. Their work was heavily influenced by the realist painters of the French Barbizon school. The painters of the Hague school generally made use of re ...

. In 1912 he won the 1st prize at the Bignall Competition. During the 1910s he lived in

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

Voorburg Voorburg () is a town and former municipality in the west part of the province of South Holland, Netherlands. Together with the town Leidschendam and the village Stompwijk, it merged into the municipality of Leidschendam-Voorburg in 2002. Sit ...

, and

Nieuwkoop Nieuwkoop () is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality was enlarged on 1 January 2007, through the amalgamation of Liemeer and Ter Aar. The municipality now covers an area of of whi ...

. In 1918 he exhibited collectively in

. In 1920 he married Herta Maria Stephan and travelled to Argentina on their honeymoon. The two decided to settle in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, in Tigre for about 20 years and later in

Belgrano Belgrano may refer to: People * Joaquín Belgrano (1773–1848), an Argentine patriot * José Denis Belgrano (1844–1917), Spanish painter * Joseph Belgrano (1762–1823), Argentine military officer and politician, brother of Manuel * Manuel Be ...

. "''Argentina was paradise to us so we stayed''", he remarked. The couple had two sons, Rolando and Hermen.

Career

Witjens was commonly addressed as "Arie" in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and later added “Jacques” to his name to project a more artistic image. He would sometimes use his wife's surname together with his own to sign some of his paintings. He became a successful painter and exhibited regularly in prestigious salons of

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

: * 1925 Círculo Belga, Buenos Aires, collective exhibition. * 1928 Galeria Neuman, Buenos Aires. * 1931 Galería Clayton, Buenos Aires. * 1932 to 1936, 1944, 1945, 1947 to 1949 Galería Nordiska * 1940 Galería Viau, Buenos Aires. * 1941 to 1944 Galería Renom, Rosario. * 1949 Mar de Plata and Tandill rooms of San Fernando, Buenos Aires. * 1958 Ateneo

Esteban Echeverría José Esteban Antonio Echeverría (2 September 1805 – 19 January 1851) was an Argentine poet, fiction writer, cultural promoter, and liberal activist who played a significant role in the development of Argentine literature, not only thro ...

of San Fernando, a retrospective. * 1962 Netherlands Embassy, Buenos Aires. * 1964 Dámaso Arce Museum, Buenos Aires. * 1988 and 1989 Colección Alvear de Zurbarán. * Several between 1985 and 2019 Zurbarán Gallery, Buenos Aires. In 1947 Witjens won the award for the best landscape of the Delta in the Salón de San Fernando, Buenos Aires. In 1948 he was appointed the best foreign painter at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, in

. He died in

in 1956.

Legacy

Witjens painted either ''plein-air'' or in his studio in Avenida Sarmiento, while listening to

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

and

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

. He produced

oils An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturat ...

pastel A pastel () is an art medium that consists of powdered pigment and a binder (material), binder. It can exist in a variety of forms, including a stick, a square, a pebble, and a pan of color, among other forms. The pigments used in pastels are ...

s and

watercolors Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin 'water'), is a painting method"Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to the S ...

. He was influenced by

Jacob Maris Jacob Henricus Maris (August 25, 1837 – August 7, 1899) was a Dutch painter, who with his brothers Willem and Matthijs belonged to what has come to be known as the Hague School of painters. He was considered to be the most important and influ ...

, Hendrik Wessenbruch,

Max Liebermann Max Liebermann (20 July 1847 – 8 February 1935) was a German painter and printmaker, and one of the leading proponents of Impressionism in Germany and continental Europe. In addition to his activity as an artist, he also assembled an important ...

and Hans Von Bartels. The paintings from his European period have abundance of greens, blues and browns, thick

impasto Impasto is a technique used in painting, where paint is laid on an area of the surface thickly, usually thick enough that the brush or painting-knife strokes are visible. Paint can also be mixed right on the canvas. When dry, impasto provides tex ...

. His Argentinian ones introduce a wider palette and much softer brushstrokes. His style remained true to his roots, giving his delicate views of

, Tigre,

Tandil Tandil is the main city of the homonymous partido (department), located in Argentina, in the southeast of Buenos Aires Province, just north-northwest of Tandilia hills. The city was founded in 1823, and its name originates from the '' Piedra M ...

, Balcarce and

Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, the second largest city in Argentina and the capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cord ...

a calm and airy feel. The water of the Dutch canals often flows through European towns and rural landscapes in his Argentinian creations. Witjens also did illustrations for the books of poet Mario Luis Descotte. He befriended and exhibited with other artists, such as British Stephen Robert Koekkoek, and Argentinians José Félix Rolla, Fernando Fader, Miguel Burgoa Videla, Alberto M. Rossi, and Luis Aquino. His works are part of collections in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, such as those of the

Museum de Lakenhal Museum De Lakenhal is the city museum of fine art and history in Leiden, Netherlands. Founded in 1874, its collection ranges from early works by Rembrandt van Rijn and Lucas van Leyden's ''Last Judgement'' to modern classics of De Stijl and artwork ...

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

, Museum Helmond in

Helmond Helmond (; called ''Hèllemond'' in the local dialect) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Metropoolregio Eindhoven of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of ...

, the

Ushuaia Ushuaia ( , ) is the capital city, capital of Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina, Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur Province, Argentina. With a population of 82,615 and a location below the 54th parallel south latitude, U ...

Maritime Museum, the Museo de Arte Tigre, Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat Art Collection,

Buenos Aires Stock Exchange The Buenos Aires Stock Exchange (BCBA; ) is the organization responsible for the operation of Economy of Argentina, Argentina's primary stock exchange located at Buenos Aires central business district. Founded in 1854, it is the successor to the ' ...

, and Fundación Tres Pinos in

References

Sources

* ''Jacques Witjens, VIII Exporisión Retrospectiva'', catalogue, Zurbarán and ABN AMRO Bank, Buenos Aires, 1999. * Carlos María Pinasco: "''Jacques Witjens: El holandés sedentario''", catalogue of the 10th retrospective. Buenos Aires, 2003. *
Arte de la Argentina
'
Zurbarán Gallery

Artnet

Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat Foundation

Worldcat

RDK

Art index

NL Bio

''Grupo La Provincia'' newspaper 24 January 2021

''La Vereda'' magazine 25 January 2021

Zomerlandschap met schuit by Arie Witjens, Museum De Lakenhal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Witjens, Arie Jacques 20th-century Dutch artists 20th-century Dutch painters Dutch painters 1881 births 1956 deaths Hague School Dutch emigrants Immigrants to Argentina