Theodorus Antonius Hubertus Maria (Theo) Dobbelman (

Nijmegen Nijmegen ( , ; Nijmeegs: ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and the ninth largest of the Netherlands as a whole. Located on the Waal River close to the German border, Nijmegen is one of the oldest cities in the ...

, 22 October 1906 – Montalivet-les-Bains, France, 7 September 1984) was a Dutch sculptor,

ceramist Ceramic art is art made from ceramic materials, including clay. It may take varied forms, including artistic pottery, including tableware, tiles, figurines and other sculpture. As one of the plastic arts, ceramic art is a visual art. While ...

and painter. Dobbelman came into prominence as ceramist and leader of the experimental division of

De Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles The Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles N.V. (trading publicly as Royal Delft) is a Dutch manufacturer of Delftware, a type of earthenware, headquartered in Delft, the Netherlands. It is the only remaining factory out of 32 that were established in Delft ...

in Delft since 1956. He also taught at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Amsterdam.

Biography

Early life

Dobbelman (also: Dobbelmann) was the son of soap maker and politician Pierre Dobbelmann. He initially studied chemistry at the Swiss Fribourg, where he also graduated. He settled in Amsterdam, where he befriended ceramist Just van Deventer. From 1941 he worked with him in his company Tanagra Pottery. After the Second World War Dobbelman left the business, and he worked as an independent artist. In 1956 he became the leader of an experimental division of

in Delft. The department focused on the renewal of ceramics as art form. Early pupils out there were

Lies Cosijn Alida "Lies" Meijers-Cosijn (25 April 1931 – 23 February 2016, Petten) was a Dutch ceramist. Her work is described as "fairytale like and poetic, but also sometimes bizarre and realistic." Life and work Born in Mojokerto, Cosijn returned with ...

and Jet Sielcken. One of the latest pupils out there was Simone Haak.Trudy van der Wees,
Simone Haak
" at ''verhalenwiki.nl,'' last updated 22 July 2018.

Later career

Dobbelman taught ceramics associated with the Institute of Applied Art and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, both in Amsterdam. His students included Frank van Brakel,,

Hannie Mein Johanna Greta (Hannie) Mein (Utrecht, 10 July 1933 - Vinkega, 14 February 2003) was a Dutch ceramist. Life and work After secondary school Mein started working at a potter. She attended evening classes at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterd ...

, Francine Timmers, and Jan van der Vaart. He was president of Saint Luke Artist Association and member of

Arti et Amicitiae Arti et Amicitiae (lat .: For Art and Friendship) is a Dutch artist's society founded in 1839, and located on the Rokin in Amsterdam. The Society (also called Arti for short) has played a key role in the Netherlands art scene and in particular in ...

. Later in his life he was invested as a Knight of the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau () is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has performed acts of special merits for ...

. Dobbelman died in France and was buried on cemetery Zorgvlied.

Work

Over the years Dobbelman contributed with numerous designs for ceramics, bronze and terra cotta, and to publications, commissions and illustrations. In 1976 the

Princessehof Ceramics Museum The Princessehof Ceramics Museum (in Dutch: Keramiekmuseum Princessehof) is a museum of ceramics in the city of Leeuwarden in the Netherlands. The museum's name comes from one of two buildings in which it is housed: a small palace ( means ‘roya ...

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; ; ; ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 127,073 (2023). It is the provincial capital and seat of the Provin ...

contributed with a retrospective of his work.

Exhibitions, a selection

* 1948. Group exhibition in Arti,

, Amsterdam. * 1955. Sculptures in the Lijnbaan,

Lijnbaan The Lijnbaan is the main shopping street of Rotterdam. It was opened in 1953, as the main pedestrian street in the new shopping district, after the old shopping district was completely destroyed during the bombing of Rotterdam by the German Luf ...

Rotterdam. * 1959. De porseleyne fles ín Paríjs, Dutch Institute in Paris. * 1965. Ceramic sculptures, indoor and outdoor,

Museum Arnhem Museum Arnhem (formerly known as Gemeentemuseum Arnhem and then Museum voor Moderne Kunst Arnhem) is a museum of modern art, contemporary art, applied art and design in Arnhem, Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally ...

, Arnhem.Ad Interim.
Kleden aan de wand, ceramiek in de tuin in zomers Arnhem
. ''Algemeen Handelsblad''. Amsterdam, 1965/08/21, p. 19.

Works in the public space (selection)

* Heerhugowaard, Untitled (1980), ''Granaat-Smaragd'' (Garnet-Emerald), at school "The Aventurine" * Veenendaal, Untitled (1968), a ceramic cube at the base Kerkwijk

Photo gallery

Dobbelman, Theo - Platte schaal met opstaand randje (1949).jpg, Flat bowl with raised edge (1949) Dobbelman, Theo - Tegel met decor van zittend meisje met spiegel (1955).jpg, Tile with decor of sitting girl with mirror (1955) Dobbelman, Theo - Tegel met decor van 2 meisjesfiguren.jpg, Tile with decor of two girl figures (1959) Granaat-Smaragd Heerhugowaard.JPG, Without title (1980), Heerhugowaard

References

External links

Theo Dobbelmann
at Capriolus Contemporary Ceramics {{DEFAULTSORT:Dobbelman, Theo 1906 births 1984 deaths Dutch sculptors Dutch male sculptors Artists from Nijmegen Knights of the Order of Orange-Nassau Burials at Zorgvlied Cemetery 20th-century Dutch ceramists