Jaap Schreurs
Dutch painter
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Jaap Schreurs (19 November 1913 in The Hague – 16 February 1983 in Utrecht) was a Dutch painter and graphic artist in the neo-figurative style.
19 November 1913
Royal Academy of Art, The Hague and the Free Academy of Visual Art, The Hague
Jaap Schreurs | |
|---|---|
 Passport photograph of Schreurs | |
| Born | Jacobus Schreurs 19 November 1913 The Hague, Netherlands |
| Died | 16 February 1983 (aged 69) Utrecht, Netherlands |
| Education | Jacobus Lambertus Keizer (father), later Christiaan de Moor and Francis de Erdely; Royal Academy of Art, The Hague and the Free Academy of Visual Art, The Hague |
| Known for | Painting, drawing, printmaking |
| Movement | neo-figurative |
Life
Schreurs was born as Jacobus Schreurs in The Hague, Netherlands, to Jacobus Lambertus Keizer and his common-law wife Nelly Schreurs. His father was a painter in the style of the Hague School. As a child, Jaap often accompanied his father when he went into the countryside to paint the Dutch landscape, and he let the child have a go at it too. In his teens Schreurs joined a group of boys who went to the polders for the day, painting and drawing. Afterwards the boys' efforts were seriously examined and commented on by Jaap’s father, who insisted on the importance of perfection and professional skill[1][2] .[3]
In his adolescence Schreurs lost the sight of his right eye.[4] From then on he had to live without the ability to see depth and perspective. He studied at the Royal Academy of Art and the Free Academy of Visual Art in The Hague.[3][5] His teachers were Christiaan de Moor and Francis de Erdely.[2] After he had finished his studies, he installed himself as a professional painter, and led the life of a poor but hard-working artist. During World War II he had to go into hiding because he refused to sign the so-called ‘declaration of Aryan descent’ (‘Ariërverklaring’), which the Nazi racial policy required from every artist. From that moment on, he was punishable by law. Schreurs moved to Utrecht in the early 1950s. He led a rather secluded life and refused to become a member of an art society or to conform to any contemporary school of painting. He wanted to develop his own style independently and had no ambition to become a career painter. He also declined the BKR artist subsidy and its forerunners the Dutch state granted to artists from 1949 onwards because he objected to such subsidies in principle. In 1983 Schreurs died of a cardiac arrest.
Legacy
Upon his death he left behind over a thousand paintings, gouaches, drawings, etchings and linocuts.[6][7][8] His relatives consulted eight experts from prominent Dutch museums, art magazines, and auctioneering firms. These unanimously judged the quality and originality of the work positively; many pieces were judged to be of museum quality. They advised prudent and professional management of the collection. The legacy has been catalogued and can be viewed on a website (see external links below).
