Jac. J. Koeman (1889-1978) - Stilleven

Still life by Jac. J. Koeman. Bergense School, 1939.

The Bergense School is a movement in Dutch painting between 1915 and 1925 that is characterized by an expressive style with cubist influences and dark tones. The artists lived and worked in or near the North-Holland artist village Bergen.

Jacobus Jan (Jac. J.) Koeman (Edam, 16 November 1889 - Bergen (Noord-Holland), 11 September 1978) was a Dutch watercolourist, painter, draughtsman, sculptor, ceramicist, bookbinding designer, etcher, lithographer and modeller. He took a one-year training at the Kunstnijverheidsschool Quellinus in Amsterdam, studied with Antoon Derkinderen, but was mainly self-taught. In the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam he copied many old masters.

He worked in Edam (Edam-Volendam), between 1920 and 1925 in Zaandam (Zaanstad) and in Paris, London, Loosdrecht, Amsterdam, Blaricum and from 1934 in Bergen (Noord-Holland). In his Zaandam period he gave painting lessons to several later artists.

To the public he is primarily known for his album plates for the Verkade albums (animals, plants, flowers). For these albums he also supplied the book bindings. Furthermore he made landscapes, including winter scenes, cityscapes, still lifes, figure studies, nudes and portraits. His independent work is considered part of the Bergense School.

He was a member of Kunstenaarsvereniging Sint Lucas in Amsterdam, the Vereeniging van Beeldende Kunstenaars Laren-Blaricum and the KunstenaarsCentrumBergen (KCB). In 1964 he received the Zilveren Erepenning of the municipality of Bergen.