Kees Verkade
Encyclopedia
Kees Verkade is a Dutch
artist and sculptor. He specializes in modeling the human form, with an emphasis on movement and emotion. Most of his sculptures are set in bronze. They depict a variety of people, including children, clowns, athletes, dancers, mothers, and lovers. Verkade also creates gouache
s and silkscreens to accompany his sculptures.
Verkade was born in 1941 to an upper class family
in Haarlem
. He took painting lessons with Gerrit van ’t Net from 1958 to 1963, and from Dirk Bus
at the Royal Academy in The Hague
. In 1964 he had his first exposition in the Haarlem fish market (a hall belonging to the Frans Hals Museum
. This was a success and the Frans Hals museum bought two of his sculptures. He specialized in carving and sculpture. One of his early works is in the Haarlem
fish market. His big breakthrough came when his work (at that time mostly showing sports movements) was noticed by an American author visiting Haarlem in 1969. He showed photographs of Verkade's sculptures to friends. Verkade then proceeded to become an internationally recognized artist, and many local associations bought his work. His work can be seen in public places around Haarlem and Zandvoort, where he lived and worked. He moved to Monaco in 1979.
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...
artist and sculptor. He specializes in modeling the human form, with an emphasis on movement and emotion. Most of his sculptures are set in bronze. They depict a variety of people, including children, clowns, athletes, dancers, mothers, and lovers. Verkade also creates gouache
Gouache
Gouache[p], also spelled guache, the name of which derives from the Italian guazzo, water paint, splash or bodycolor is a type of paint consisting of pigment suspended in water. A binding agent, usually gum arabic, is also present, just as in watercolor...
s and silkscreens to accompany his sculptures.
Early career
Verkade (family)
Verkade is the name of a Dutch patrician family of entrepreneurs.Originating from Leiden in the early 17th century, the family of French Huguenot descent became known for being manufacturers of chocolate, rusk and cookies....
in Haarlem
Haarlem
Haarlem is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic...
. He took painting lessons with Gerrit van ’t Net from 1958 to 1963, and from Dirk Bus
Dirk Bus
Dirk Bus was a Dutch sculptor.Bus was educated in sculpture at the Royal Academy of Arts in the Hague and State Academy of Fine Arts in Amsterdam. He was a student of Bon Ingen-Housz and Jan Bronner. He then taught sculpture at the Art Academy and the Hague Academy...
at the Royal Academy in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
. In 1964 he had his first exposition in the Haarlem fish market (a hall belonging to the Frans Hals Museum
Frans Hals Museum
The Frans Hals Museum is a hofje and municipal museum in Haarlem, Netherlands. The museum was founded in 1862 in the newly renovated former cloister located in the back of the Haarlem city hall known as the Prinsenhof...
. This was a success and the Frans Hals museum bought two of his sculptures. He specialized in carving and sculpture. One of his early works is in the Haarlem
Haarlem
Haarlem is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic...
fish market. His big breakthrough came when his work (at that time mostly showing sports movements) was noticed by an American author visiting Haarlem in 1969. He showed photographs of Verkade's sculptures to friends. Verkade then proceeded to become an internationally recognized artist, and many local associations bought his work. His work can be seen in public places around Haarlem and Zandvoort, where he lived and worked. He moved to Monaco in 1979.
Selected works
- "H.S.H. Princess Grace of MonacoGrace KellyGrace Patricia Kelly was an American actress who, in April 1956, married Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, to become Princess consort of Monaco, styled as Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco, and commonly referred to as Princess Grace.After embarking on an acting career in 1950, at the age of...
" (1983) in MonacoMonacoMonaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the... - "Triomf" (1995) in RotterdamRotterdamRotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
/The Netherlands - "Malizia" (1997) a statue of François GrimaldiFrançois GrimaldiFrancesco Grimaldi called il Malizia , was the Genoese leader of the Guelphs who captured the Rock of Monaco on the night of 8 January 1297...
in Monaco - "Tight Rope Walker" on the Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
campus
External links
- Verkade's website
- Biography (in Dutch)