Cornelis Zitman
Encyclopedia
Cornelis Zitman is a Dutch
-Venezuela
n sculptor and draftsman.
, where he worked as a furniture designer at a factory of which he later became manager. In 1951, he received the National Sculpture Prize. He began teaching classes in design at Central University of Venezuela
and continued drawing and painting. In 1958, he exhibited a collection of drawings and paintings at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Caracas. He decided to abandon a life of business and moved to the island of Grenada
, where he dedicated himself completely to painting and began to assert his style in sculpting. In 1961, he traveled to Boston to participate in an exhibition of paintings and design. That same year he returned to Holland with a desire to study smelting techniques. In 1964, he worked as a smelting apprentice to the sculptor Pieter Starreveld before returning definitively to Venezuela, contracted by Central University as a professor of design. The following year, he began working more intensively in small format sculpture modeled directly in wax. In 1971, he exhibited for the first time at the Dina Vierny Gallery in Paris. From then on, he dedicated himself exclusively to sculpture. In the following years, he carried out various independent showings in Venezuela, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the United States, Japan and other countries, earning various national and international awards. His works can be found in collections and museums of various countries, such as the National Art Gallery and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Caracas in Venezuela, and the Musée Maillol in Paris.
of the indigenous peoples
of Venezuela, particularly the female figure.
and the International Contemporary Art Fairs of Paris (FIAC) and Madrid (ARCO). His most prominent individual exhibitions can be found at the Dina Vierny Gallery in Paris, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Caracas, the Tokoro Gallery in Tokyo, the Museum of Modern Art in Bogotá (MAMBO) and the Sculptures by the Sea Museum in Scheveningen, Netherlands.
He has won a diverse collection of awards, among them the National Sculpture Prize at the Hall of Plastic Arts in Caracas (1951), First Prize at the Sculpture Biennial of Budapest (1971), the Acquisition Prize of the Contemporary Art Museum of Caracas at the Biennial of Visual Arts (1981) and Special Prize in the 3rd Kotaro Takamura Grand Prize Exhibition at the Hakone Open Air Museum outside of Tokyo (1982). In 2005, he was decorated with the Order of the Netherlands Lion.
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
-Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
n sculptor and draftsman.
Biography
Zitman was born to a family of construction workers in Leiden, The Netherlands. He enrolled in the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague at the age of fifteen. On completing his studies in 1947, he refused compulsory military participation, as he disagreed with Holland's political actions in Indonesia, and fled the country aboard a Swedish oil tanker that would take him to Venezuela. He settled in the city of Coro, where he found work as a technical draftsman for a construction company. In his free time, he painted and made his first incursions into the field of sculpture. Two years later he moved to CaracasCaracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
, where he worked as a furniture designer at a factory of which he later became manager. In 1951, he received the National Sculpture Prize. He began teaching classes in design at Central University of Venezuela
Central University of Venezuela
The Central University of Venezuela is a premier public University of Venezuela located in Caracas...
and continued drawing and painting. In 1958, he exhibited a collection of drawings and paintings at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Caracas. He decided to abandon a life of business and moved to the island of Grenada
Grenada
Grenada is an island country and Commonwealth Realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea...
, where he dedicated himself completely to painting and began to assert his style in sculpting. In 1961, he traveled to Boston to participate in an exhibition of paintings and design. That same year he returned to Holland with a desire to study smelting techniques. In 1964, he worked as a smelting apprentice to the sculptor Pieter Starreveld before returning definitively to Venezuela, contracted by Central University as a professor of design. The following year, he began working more intensively in small format sculpture modeled directly in wax. In 1971, he exhibited for the first time at the Dina Vierny Gallery in Paris. From then on, he dedicated himself exclusively to sculpture. In the following years, he carried out various independent showings in Venezuela, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the United States, Japan and other countries, earning various national and international awards. His works can be found in collections and museums of various countries, such as the National Art Gallery and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Caracas in Venezuela, and the Musée Maillol in Paris.
Style
In his sculptures, Zitman attempts to reproduce and exaggerate the morphologyMorphology (biology)
In biology, morphology is a branch of bioscience dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features....
of the indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
of Venezuela, particularly the female figure.
Awards and Exhibitions
Zitman has participated in various international exhibitions, such as the International Sculpture-Drawing Biennial of Budapest, the São Paulo Art BiennialSão Paulo Art Biennial
The São Paulo Art Biennial was founded in 1951 and has been held every two years since. It is the second oldest art biennial in the world after the Venice Biennial , which serves as its role model....
and the International Contemporary Art Fairs of Paris (FIAC) and Madrid (ARCO). His most prominent individual exhibitions can be found at the Dina Vierny Gallery in Paris, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Caracas, the Tokoro Gallery in Tokyo, the Museum of Modern Art in Bogotá (MAMBO) and the Sculptures by the Sea Museum in Scheveningen, Netherlands.
He has won a diverse collection of awards, among them the National Sculpture Prize at the Hall of Plastic Arts in Caracas (1951), First Prize at the Sculpture Biennial of Budapest (1971), the Acquisition Prize of the Contemporary Art Museum of Caracas at the Biennial of Visual Arts (1981) and Special Prize in the 3rd Kotaro Takamura Grand Prize Exhibition at the Hakone Open Air Museum outside of Tokyo (1982). In 2005, he was decorated with the Order of the Netherlands Lion.