Hermanus "Herman" Ellen Mees (18 September 1880 – 28 November 1964) was a Dutch artist, active as painter, watercolorist, draftsman, pastelist, lithographer, and academy lecturer.Herman Mees; male / Netherlandish; painter, watercolorist, draftsman, pastelist, lithographer, academy lecturer
at rkd.nl, 2015. He was specialized in

portrait painting Portrait painting is a Hierarchy of genres, genre in painting, where the intent is to represent a specific human subject. The term 'portrait painting' can also describe the actual painted portrait. Portraitists may create their work by commissio ...

Life and work

Mees was born on 18 September 1880, in

Veendam Veendam () is a town and municipality with a population of 27,752 in the province of Groningen in the northeast of the Netherlands. Veendam was established in 1648 as a peat colony by Adriaan Geerts Wildervanck. Holland America Line has named fo ...

, to physician Willem Mees and Geertruida Hermina Oving. In 1897, the family moved to

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

. There he passed his exams for the

Hogere Burgerschool The ''Hogere Burgerschool'' (''HBS'') (Dutch: Higher Civic School) was a secondary school type that existed between 1863 and 1974 in the Netherlands and the Dutch Empire. These schools, with a five- or sometimes six-year program, continued in 1 ...

in 1899. He studied architecture at the Polytechnic School in Delft for one year in 1900, attended 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 from 1901 to 1903, and in 1902-1903 also the Academy of Visual Arts in Rotterdam, and the Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague from 1904 to 1905. In The Hague he graduated in 1905, obtaining a teacher diploma for secondary drawing education. He had studied under

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 ...

and Willem van Konijnenburg. Mees was interested in

theosophy Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neop ...

. The theosophical philosophy prescribed a simple life without much needs. After obtaining this degree, he went out into the world. After wandering in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

and

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

, he settled in London, where the headquarters of the Theosophical movement were located. There he met Arthur Ayliffe with whom he had many philosophical debates. He spent much time in the London parks, making hundreds of pencil sketches and pencil studies. In 1914 Mees moved to Spain, but soon had to flee because of the war. In 1917, Mees accepted a position as a teacher at the Rotterdam Art Academy, now

Willem de Kooning Academy The Willem de Kooning Academy () is a Dutch academy of media, art, design, leisure and education based in Rotterdam. It was named after one of its most famous alumni, Dutch fine artist Willem de Kooning. Overview The Willem de Kooning Academy ...

. The Academy gave him the first years annual five-month study break. He stayed mainly in Italy and Spain. In 1924, Mees was promoted head lecturer of the Rotterdam Academy, where he remained in service until 1943. Mees's work was included in the 1939 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. Mees became known for his portraits of Utrecht professors and Rotterdam businessmen and harbor barons. He also painted many portraits of children. He was a member of the

Pulchri Studio Pulchri Studio (Latin language, Latin:"For the study of beauty") is a Dutch art society, art institution and art studio based in The Hague ('s-Gravenhage), Netherlands. This institute began in 1847 at the home of painter Netherlandse kunstschil ...

. Mees visited various exhibitions to keep abreast of new developments in art. At the age of 80, he traveled with his wife to

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

to paint portraits there. Eventually he spent his last years in

Zuidlaren Zuidlaren ( Noordenvelds: ''Zuudlaoren'') is a village in the province of Drenthe in the Northern Netherlands. Zuidlaren has just over 10,000 inhabitants and is situated on natural heightened land which is called the Hondsrug. The village is part ...

. He died there on 28 November 1964. In appreciation for his life's work in 1951 Mees received the first ''Penning van de Leuve,'' which was awarded by the Rotterdam Art Foundation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mees, Herman 1880 births 1964 deaths 20th-century Dutch painters Dutch male painters Willem de Kooning Academy alumni Royal Academy of Art, The Hague alumni Academic staff of Willem de Kooning Academy People from Veendam 20th-century Dutch male artists