Folke Heybroek (September 2, 1913 – February 28, 1983) was a Dutch

expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

artist, monumental sculptor, illustrator,

textile design Textile design, also known as textile geometry, is the creative and technical process by which thread or yarn fibers are interlaced to form a piece of Textile, cloth or Textile, fabric, which is subsequently printed upon or otherwise adorned. Texti ...

er and stained-glass designer who spent his professional life in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

where his monumental works decorate more than 70 public spaces, churches and schools. Both he and his wife, Brita Horn-Heybroek, were prominent members of the prestigious

Eskilstuna Eskilstuna () is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Eskilstuna Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden. The city of Eskilstuna had 69,948 inhabitants in 2020, with a total population of 107,806 inhabitants in Eskilstuna municipality ...

Art Society.

Early life

Folke Heybroek was born 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 ...

to a Dutch banker and Swedish mother and was the youngest of four brothers. He studied art at the Amsterdam

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 ...

under

Heinrich Campendonk Heinrich Mathias Ernst Campendonk (3 November 1889 – 9 May 1957) was a painter and graphic designer born in Germany who became a naturalized Dutch citizen. Life Campendonk was born in Krefeld, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire. He was the son ...

(1889–1957) a German expressionist who taught Decorative Art,

printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proces ...

and

stained-glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

.Folke Heybroek profile at FolkeHeybroek.com
/ref> In 1938 Heybroek met his wife Brita Horn (born 1905) in the fishing village of

Nordingrå Nordingrå () is a locality situated in Kramfors Municipality, Västernorrland County, Sweden, with 306 inhabitants in 2010. It is also a parish of some 50 villages, with a population of about 1500. Nordingrå is a part of the ''Höga Kusten'' (Hi ...

, Sweden, where he was painting landscapes. She was a Swedish aristocrat who had studied art at the Konstakademie in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, travelled through Italy and Sicily, and become both an accomplished painter and published art critic.

Working life

In 1939 Heybroek married Brita Horn in

Birger Jarlsgatan Birger Jarlsgatan is one of the longest streets in central Stockholm, Sweden. The street forms the border between Östermalm and the two neighbouring districts Norrmalm and Vasastaden. It is named after Birger Jarl since 1885, then "Birger Jarls ...

, Stockholm; had his first solo exhibition at the van Lier gallery in Amsterdam; and moved to

Monreale Monreale (; ; Sicilian: ''Murriali'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, in Sicily, Southern Italy. It is located on the slope of Monte Caputo, overlooking the very fertile valley called ''"La Conca d'oro"'' (the Golde ...

near

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

. The same year his work was included in the exhibition and sale ''

Onze Kunst van Heden Onze Kunst van Heden (Contemporary Artists/Our Art of Today) was an exhibition held in the winter of 1939 through 1940 at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Due to the threat of invasion in the years leading up to World War II, the Netherlands' g ...

'' (Our Art of Today) at the

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 ...

in Amsterdam. In 1940, only Horn's Swedish nationality prevented their internment by the

fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

Italian authorities. Thus their first daughter, Mieke Marion, was born in

Mariefred Mariefred is a locality situated in Strängnäs Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 7,121 inhabitants in 2023. The name is derived from that of the former Carthusian monastery in the city, Mariefred Charterhouse, and means "Peace ...

near

in June 1940. In 1942 Heybroek held a critically acclaimed exhibition at the

Gummeson Gallery The Gummeson Gallery, (''Galleri Gummeson'') is a contemporary art gallery situated on Strandvägen in Stockholm, Sweden. History It was launched in 1912 by Carl Gummeson, a local bookdealer, and quickly gained a reputation for its support of Mo ...

in Stockholm, selling circa 60 works, oil paintings, gouaches and drawings, his expressionistic style at this stage was strongly redolent of

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 artwork ...

. This show lead to a commission for the

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

''Midsummer'' for a factory canteen and started a career of public murals, sculptures and stained glass work. Throughout his career he created decorative art, public sculpture, installations and stained glass windows for more than thirty churches and forty schools plus courthouses and community halls.http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/blogon/2007/07/folke_heybroek_saatchi_online.php#more Profile by Ana Finel Honigman at Saatchi Online In the late 1940s Heybroek formed a professional partnership with the interior designer Alice Lund whereby he contributed abstract textile designs, an example of which still hangs in the courthouse in

Borlänge Borlänge () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 44,898 inhabitants as of 2020. It is the seat of the Borlänge Municipality which as of 2017 had a total population of 51,604 inhabitants. History Originally Bor ...

. In the early 1950s Heybroek illustrated a Swedish compendium of

Greek Mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

and a copy of Homer's ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

''. Since 1959 his sculpture of animals depicting human vices and virtues has fronted the Sala judicial center in

Västmanland Västmanland ( or ) is a historical Swedish province, or , in middle Sweden. It borders Södermanland, Närke, Värmland, Dalarna and Uppland. Västmanland means "West Man Land" or, less literally, "The Land of the Western Men", where the "we ...

. Heybroek died on 28 February 1983 in

Zierikzee Zierikzee () is a small city in the southwest Netherlands, 50 km southwest of Rotterdam. It is situated in the municipality of Schouwen-Duiveland, Zeeland. The city hall of Schouwen-Duiveland is located in Zierikzee, its largest city. Zierikze ...

Public works

1943 ''Midsummer'', L.M.K. Machine Tools, Skefco, Sweden
1961 ''Earth, Wind, Sea'', Eriksbergs School, Granitvägen, Sweden
1980 ''The Chancel Window'', Oglunda Church, Sweden
???? ''Steel Balustrade'', SSAB (Svenskt Stål AB), Domnarvet Steel Works, Stora Kopperberg
???? ''Six Days of Creation'', Falun Community Centre.
???? ''Story of Brewing'', Carlsberg's Falcon brewery, Falkenberg. Wikipedia Sweden
???? Church at Ånge, Västernorrlands län, Sweden
???? Church at Östersund,
???? Church at Hörken
???? Church at Aspeboda
???? School at Lerum
???? School at Kalix, Upsala, Sweden
???? School at Uppsala.

References

External links

Folke Heybroek profile and Gallery at FolkeHeybroek.com

Folke Heybroek review at Saatchi-Online Gallery by Ana Finel Honigman

''Cows in Landscape'' by Folke Heybroek at ArtNet

Selection of Images at FolkeHeybroke.com

* Galleri Gummeson at Wikipedia Sweden {{DEFAULTSORT:Heybroek, Folke 1913 births 1983 deaths Post-impressionist painters Dutch Expressionist painters Dutch male painters 20th-century Swedish painters Swedish male painters Swedish male sculptors Dutch male sculptors Painters from Amsterdam 20th-century Dutch sculptors 20th-century Dutch male artists 20th-century Swedish male artists Swedish Expressionist painters 20th-century Dutch painters