Johann Eduard Karsen (10 March 1860,

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 ...

- 31 October 1941, Amsterdam) was a Dutch

Post-Impressionist Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction a ...

painter, known for his moody scenes featuring villages and farmhouses; usually containing a solitary figure. He was associated with the literary movement known as the "

Tachtigers The Tachtigers ("Eightiers"), otherwise known as the Movement of Eighty (), were a radical and influential group of Dutch writers who developed a new approach in 19th-century Dutch literature. They interacted and worked together in Amsterdam fro ...

" (The Eighties).

Biography

He was the son of the Romantic painter,

Kaspar Karsen Kaspar, or Kasparus Karsen (April 2, 1810 in Amsterdam – July 24, 1896 in Biebrich (Wiesbaden), Biebrich near Wiesbaden, Germany) was a 19th-century painter from the Northern Netherlands who specialised in townscapes. Biography He was a pu ...

. After a long apprenticeship with his father, he went to study at the

Rijksakademie 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 ...

in Amsterdam. There, he became part of an influential group of young artists that included

Antoon Derkinderen Antonius Johannes (Antoon) Derkinderen ('s-Hertogenbosch, 20 December 1858 – Amsterdam, 2 November 1925) was a Dutch painting, painter, Glass artist, Drawing, Draftsman and designer of book covers. Life Early years Antoon Derkinderen wa ...

, Willem Tholen,

Jacobus van Looy Jacobus (Jac) van Looy (12 September 1855 – 24 February 1930) was a Dutch painter and writer. Biography Van Looy was the son of a carpenter, but his father lost his job when his eyesight began to fail. His mother died when he was five y ...

Jan Veth Jan Pieter Veth (18 May 1864, Dordrecht – 1 July 1925, Amsterdam) was a Dutch painter, poet, art critic and university lecturer. He is especially noted as a portrait painter. Amongst his sitters were Max Liebermann, Lambertus Zijl, Frank van ...

, and

Jan Toorop Johannes Theodorus "Jan" TooropJan Toorop
Netherlands Institute for Art History, 2014. Retrieved on 18 February 201 ...

. In 1880, along with Toorop, Dekinderen and

Willem Witsen Willem Arnoldus Witsen (13 August 1860 – 13 April 1923, Amsterdam) was a Dutch painter and photographer associated with the Amsterdam Impressionism movement. Witsen's work, influenced by James McNeill Whistler, often portrayed calm urban lands ...

, he became one of the founders of the "Kunstenaarsvereniging Sint Lucas", a society inspired by the Guilds of Saint Luke which represented artists in the Low Countries during the Renaissance. Through Witsen and

Albert Verwey Albert Verwey (May 15, 1865 – March 8, 1937) was a Dutch poet belonging to the " Movement of Eighty". As a translator, staffer, and literary historian he played an important role in the literary life of The Netherlands in the late 19th and ...

, with whom he corresponded frequently, he was introduced into the literary circles of the Tachtigers. He was also a 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 ...

. The year 1888 was a major milestone in his life. That was when he found himself passionately in love with the sculptor, Saar de Swart. He wrote that he could feel a barrier between them, but was attracted to her as if by "ten magnets".''Het Festijn van Tachtig''
by Enno Endt. Nijgh & Van Ditmar, 1990 @ DBNL. As it turned out, De Swart was a lesbian. She had great sympathy for him, but made it clear that no relationship was possible. He wrote to

Willem Kloos Willem Johannes Theodorus Kloos (; 6 May 1859 – 31 March 1938) was a nineteenth-century Dutch poet and literary critic. He was one of the prominent figures of the Movement of Eighty and became editor in chief of '' De Nieuwe Gids'' after the e ...

(who had also been enamored of her) that it was terrible to suffer such grief and not be a poet. The novelist

Frederik van Eeden Frederik Willem van Eeden (3 April 1860, Haarlem – 16 June 1932, Bussum) was a late 19th-century and early 20th-century Dutch writer and psychiatrist. He was a leading member of the Tachtigers and the Significs Group, and had top billing amo ...

, who was also a psychiatrist, advised Karsen to visit his friend Witsen in London, as a distraction. During this time, his feelings changed from love to resentment and, upon returning to Amsterdam, he began to slander her. She retreated to Paris. His friend, Jan Veth, tried to help resolve the quarrel by organizing a "tribunal", but was unsuccessful. Karsen never got over it and avoided all of the people who had become involved in the affair for the rest of his life.

Selected paintings

File:Karsen begijnhof in amsterdam.jpg, ''The Begijnhof in Amsterdam Karsen garden with blossoming fruit trees.jpg, ''Garden with blossoming fruit trees'' File:Karsen-in-het-vroege-voorjaar.jpg, ''In early spring'' File:Tuinspiegel-eduard-karsen.jpg, ''Garden mirror''

References

External links

ArtNet: More works by Karsen.

Letters by Karsen
@ DBNL
An appreciation of Karsen
by Albert Verwey, from ''Proza, Deel X'', Querido's 1923 @ DBNL.
Selection from ''Liefde in Holland''
edited by Wilhelmus Theodorus Maria Frijhoff Hans de Waardt, Uitgeverij Verloren, 1998 {{DEFAULTSORT:Karsen, Eduard 1860 births 1941 deaths 19th-century Dutch painters Dutch male painters 20th-century Dutch painters Dutch landscape painters Cityscape artists Painters from Amsterdam 19th-century Dutch male artists 20th-century Dutch male artists

Biography

Selected paintings

References

Further reading

External links