Constant Cornelis Huijsmans (1 January 1810 – 28 November 1886) was a Dutch art teacher and painter, whose roots go back to the seventeenth-century
Antwerp
Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
of the landscape painter
Cornelis Huysmans (1648–1727). Paintings of the latter are to be found at the
Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...
in Paris and at the
Hermitage Museum
The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and holds the large ...
in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
,
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
. Earlier generations of the Huijsmans family used to spell their family name slightly differently, as Huysmans.
Early life and family
Constant Cornelis Huijsmans was born in
Breda
Breda ( , , , ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. ...
on 1 January 1810. He was not only a painter but he was the Principal of the
Art Academy in Breda as well as a teacher at the
Royal Military Academy, also in Breda. He was the son of the painter and chemist Jacobus Carolus Huijsmans and Maria Elisabeth Beens. In 1854 he married Ludovica Francisca Kerstens (1823–1855), whose father was the owner of a successful brewery in Breda. The French author
Joris-Karl Huysmans
Charles-Marie-Georges Huysmans (, ; 5 February 1848 – 12 May 1907) was a French novelist and art critic who published his works as Joris-Karl Huysmans (, variably abbreviated as J. K. or J.-K.). He is most famous for the novel (1884, pub ...
(Charles-Marie-Georges Huijsmans, 1848–1907) was his nephew. On the occasion of the latter's first major publication of a collection of French poems Huijsmans wrote in a letter dated 26 December 1874 to his nephew “by the way, your name in Dutch is Joris-Karel Huijsmans … you wrote
orris-Karlwhich is German”.
Training and early work (1828–1840)
Early years between 1828 and 1840 in Antwerp, Paris and Breda
Huijsmans studied at the
Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp and at the
Academy of Fine Art in Paris. Initially, he specialized in romantic landscapes, but later he turned to interior scenes. Several of his sketchbooks have survived and some of his early paintings are known. In 1835 he returned home because of his father's going blind. As the eldest of eight children he took upon himself the task to support his family financially and to succeed his father who had been an art teacher at the Art Academy as well as at the
Royal Military Academy, both located in Breda. In 1838 Huijsmans became close friends with
Pieter Johannes Veth (1814-1895), his colleague (until 1841) at the Koninklijke Militaire Academie. Veth later became professor of Ethnology of the Dutch East Indies at the
University of Leiden
Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange as a Protestant institution, it holds the distinction of being the oldest university in the Neth ...
and the first Chairman of the
Royal Netherlands Geographical Society. They kept up a correspondence until Huijsmans died in 1886. Huijsmans managed to combine both his teaching job and his painting and took part in various national exhibitions.
Art teaching career (1840–1879)
Huijsmans developed two art teaching methods and he used these methods himself in his art classes. Some institutions such as the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (
Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten) in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
employed his approach as well. Huijsmans was the first in The Netherlands to dedicate himself to the professionalization of the subject of art teaching. His first art teaching method was called ''Het landschap'' (''The Landscape''), developed and published in 1840. It became a bestseller. The art dealer Vincent van Gogh ("uncle Cent", the uncle of Vincent van Gogh) subscribed to this new teaching method.
In 1845
King William II of the Netherlands bought Huijsmans’ painting ''Interior of a House in
North Brabant
North Brabant ( ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, Dutch Brabant or Hollandic Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to ...
''. This seemed the beginning of success for Huijsmans. In fact, King Willem II owned another painting by Huijsmans which the King must have bought just before or in 1849. It was described as ''Interior with a woman and a child'' (''Intérieur avec une femme et un enfant'', 51 x 64 cm, painted on wood) in the
auction catalogue of 1851 (see lot number 244, p. 51), which listed all the paintings to be sold after the death of King William II (1792-1849). However, in 1851 Huijsmans decided to give up painting completely and to concentrate on teaching. In 1852 he developed a second teaching method ''Grondbeginselen der Teekenkunst, eene theoretische en practische Handleiding om het teekenen grondig te leeren'' (''Principles of Art Teaching, a Theoretical and Practical Manual'').
Between 1853 and 1872 he published articles in several magazines, such as
De Gids
(from Dutch: ''The Guide'') is the oldest Dutch literary periodical still published today. It was founded in 1837 by Everhardus Johannes Potgieter and Christianus Robidé van der Aa. Long regarded as the most prestigious literary periodical ...
. As a result of the mediation of Dutch statesman and minister of liberal signature,
Johan Rudolph Thorbecke, Huijsmans obtained in 1865 the important position of art teacher at the new and prestigious
Willem II College in
Tilburg
Tilburg () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, in the southern Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. With a population of 22 ...
, a school commissioned by King William II himself. The school was housed in the former royal palace, now the
City Hall of Tilburg, but moved in 1934 to a new location.
Vincent van Gogh

During Huijsmans' years as art teacher at the Willem II College in Tilburg, Dutch painter
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...
was the school's and Huijsmans’ most famous student between 15 September 1866 and 19 March 1868. Van Gogh (1853–1890) had initially been taught at home by his mother and a governess, and later attended the village school in
Groot-Zundert, in
North Brabant
North Brabant ( ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, Dutch Brabant or Hollandic Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to ...
. In 1864 he was sent to a boarding school at
Zevenbergen, but in 1866 his parents decided to send him to the new and prestigious Willem II College in Tilburg. In March 1868 Van Gogh suddenly returned home. One drawing of two men with shovels (1867) has survived from this period in the life of Vincent van Gogh. A year later, in July 1869, Van Gogh obtained his first job with an art dealer
Goupil & Cie 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 ...
, through the mediation of his uncle Cent (Vincent van Gogh, 1820-1888), also an art dealer in The Hague. Huijsmans remained an art teacher at the Willem II College until 1877.
Later years and death (1879–1886)
In 1879 Huijsmans moved to
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 ...
together with his sister Oda. Huijsmans died in The Hague on 28 November 1886 at the age of 76.
Library
Huijsmans had built up an interesting library with works from e.g.
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...
,
Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari (30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance painter, architect, art historian, and biographer who is best known for his work ''Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'', considered the ideol ...
and
, as well as six books by
Jan Luyken
Johannes or Jan Luyken (16 April 1649 – 5 April 1712) was a Dutch poet, illustrator, and engraving, engraver. , and many, mostly French, poetry collections. There are six letters from him to the famous Dutch
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
translator,
Leendert Burgersdijk. They knew each other well and Burgersdijk would regularly ask Huijsmans for comments on the translations.
["Vincent van Gogh Special", ''Tijdschrift voor geschiedenis, monumenten en cultuur'', jaargang 8, nr. 2, mei 1990, p. 54.]
A watercolour and three etchings
Het uitladen van een wagen, RP-T-1960-177.jpg, Unloading of a wagon, Rijksmuseum
The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the S ...
, Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
.
Landschap met kale boom en herder, RP-P-OB-47.124.jpg, Landscape with a leafless tree and a shepherd, signed by C.C. Huijsmans with C.C.H., Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
Boslandschap met water, RP-P-OB-47.131.jpg, Forest landscape, signed by C.C. Huijsmans, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
Bosgezicht met houten brug, RP-P-OB-47.127.jpg, Forest landscape with wooden bridge, signed by C.C. Huijsmans, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
Notes
References
"Een schets van C.C. Huijsmans", Ad C.J.M. Willemen, ''Tijdschrift voor geschiedenis, monumenten en cultuur'', jaargang 6, juni 1988.
"Vincent van Gogh Special", ''Tijdschrift voor geschiedenis, monumenten en cultuur'', jaargang 8, nr. 2, mei 1990.
* ''De kunst is geheel en al bijzaak, de moeizame carrière van C.C. Huijsmans (1810-1886), tekenmeester in Brabant'', Wilma van Giersbergen, Amsterdam, 2003.
* ''Een zachte aanraking van zijn zieleleven. Over 'ware' en 'valse' mystiek rond 1900'', Peter J.A. Nissen, Van Tilt, 2008.
Collectie Regionaal Archief Tilburg.* ''Het Landschap'', C.C. Huijsmans, published by H.J. Backer, Dordrecht, 1840.
Royal Collection/Royal Archives: at Noordeinde Palace, the Hague, C.C. Huijsmans, ''Grondbeginselen der Teekenkunst, eene theoretische en praktische Handleiding om het teekenen grondig te leeren'', uitgegeven door P.N. van Kampen, Amsterdam, 1852.* ''The works of Vincent van Gogh, his paintings and drawings'', J. Baart de la Taille, Amsterdam, 1970.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huijsmans, Constant Cornelis
1810 births
1886 deaths
19th-century Dutch painters
Artists from Breda
Painters from North Brabant
Dutch male painters
19th-century Dutch male artists