Willem Bastiaan Tholen
Encyclopedia
Willem Bastiaan Tholen( Amsterdam, 13 Feb,1860 - The Hague, 5 Dec, 1931) was a Dutch painter, draftsman and printmaker with some connections to members of the Hague School
.
When Tholen was five years old, his family moved to Kampen. There he became friendly with the young Jan Voerman and they entered the Amsterdam academy together in 1876. Tholen earned his certificate of proficiency within a year, in turn enrolling in the Polytechnic School in Delft, where he attended drawing classes for two years. Having concluded his studies there in 1878 with a secondary school teaching certificate, he went to work as a drawing instructor at the evening secondary school in Gouda.
He spent three months in Brussels in the studio of Paul Gabriël
, from whom he received his first real instruction in painting. In the following years Gabriël's advice was of particular importance for Tholen, as they worked together en plein air for many summers near Kampen and Giethoorn, among other places. In Gouda (1878-9) and Kampen (1880–85) he taught draftsmanship in order to support himself but after 1885 concentrated entirely on his own work.
In 1885 Willem Witsen invited Tholen to visit his family's country house near Baarn, where their contemporaries, George Hendrik Breitner
and Anton Mauve
were frequent guests. From 1887 he lived in The Hague, where he became friendly with other painters of The Hague school. He took an active part in the artistic life of The Hague and was a member of the Pulchri Studio
.
Tholen established his reputation in The Hague with his landscapes of the countryside around Kampen and views of the woods near Baarn. He also frequently painted views of The Hague, the woods of Scheveningen and a series of interiors in which a window typically provides a view outside: a garden, a street illumined by sunlight or the rhythmically grouped roofs of a city. He painted the fishing boats on the beach in Scheveningen, but in contrast to Jacob Maris
(whom he greatly admired), Tholen did not employ the desolate sea as a backdrop, but rather, the bustling village. He used the hustle-bustle of the city more often as a theme than was generally the case in the Hague School, depicting such subjects as construction sites, slaughterhouses, stonecutters and the sand excavations and sand barge captains on the canal between The Hague and Scheveningen.
Hague School
The Hague School is the name given to a group of artists who lived and worked in The Hague between 1860 and 1890. Their work was heavily influenced by the realist painters of the French Barbizon school. The painters of the Hague school generally made use of relatively sombre colours, which is why...
.
When Tholen was five years old, his family moved to Kampen. There he became friendly with the young Jan Voerman and they entered the Amsterdam academy together in 1876. Tholen earned his certificate of proficiency within a year, in turn enrolling in the Polytechnic School in Delft, where he attended drawing classes for two years. Having concluded his studies there in 1878 with a secondary school teaching certificate, he went to work as a drawing instructor at the evening secondary school in Gouda.
He spent three months in Brussels in the studio of Paul Gabriël
Paul Gabriël
Paul Joseph Constantin Gabriël was a painter, draftsman, watercolorist, and etcher who belonged to the Hague School....
, from whom he received his first real instruction in painting. In the following years Gabriël's advice was of particular importance for Tholen, as they worked together en plein air for many summers near Kampen and Giethoorn, among other places. In Gouda (1878-9) and Kampen (1880–85) he taught draftsmanship in order to support himself but after 1885 concentrated entirely on his own work.
In 1885 Willem Witsen invited Tholen to visit his family's country house near Baarn, where their contemporaries, George Hendrik Breitner
George Hendrik Breitner
George Hendrik Breitner wasa Dutch painter and photographer.-Biography:George Hendrik Breitner was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands. From 1876–1880 he attended the Academy in the Hague where his extraordinary talent was rewarded on various occasions...
and Anton Mauve
Anton Mauve
Anthonij Rudolf Mauve was a Dutch realist painter who was a leading member of the Hague School. He signed his paintings 'A. Mauve' or with a monogrammed 'A.M.'. He was a very significant early influence on his cousin-in-law Vincent van Gogh.Most of Mauve's work depicts people and animals in...
were frequent guests. From 1887 he lived in The Hague, where he became friendly with other painters of The Hague school. He took an active part in the artistic life of The Hague and was a member of the Pulchri Studio
Pulchri Studio
The Pulchri Studio is an important art institution and art studio based in The Hague, Netherlands. It began in 1847 at the home of painter Lambertus Hardenberg, established with the help of Johan Hendrik Weissenbruch, Jan Weissenbruch, Willem Roelofs, Jan Frederik van Deventer, Willem Antonie van...
.
Tholen established his reputation in The Hague with his landscapes of the countryside around Kampen and views of the woods near Baarn. He also frequently painted views of The Hague, the woods of Scheveningen and a series of interiors in which a window typically provides a view outside: a garden, a street illumined by sunlight or the rhythmically grouped roofs of a city. He painted the fishing boats on the beach in Scheveningen, but in contrast to Jacob Maris
Jacob Maris
Jacob Maris was a Dutch painter, who with his brothers Willem and Matthijs belonged to what has come to be known as the Hague School of painters....
(whom he greatly admired), Tholen did not employ the desolate sea as a backdrop, but rather, the bustling village. He used the hustle-bustle of the city more often as a theme than was generally the case in the Hague School, depicting such subjects as construction sites, slaughterhouses, stonecutters and the sand excavations and sand barge captains on the canal between The Hague and Scheveningen.
Source
- Sillevis, John and Tabak, Anne, The Hague School Book, Waanders Uitgegevers, Zwolle, 2004 (pp 381-388)