Jan Schaeffer (1923-2018) - Boszicht

Jan Schaeffer (1923-2018) was a Rotterdam-based painter with a lifelong devotion to his craft. He was especially known for his depictions of Rotterdam harbors, riverfronts, cityscapes, landscapes, and still lifes. His work carries a romantically figurative mood and aligns in style and subject with the Hague School tradition.

From a young age he drew and painted, encouraged by his father Marius Schaeffer, who himself enjoyed painting. He also received lessons at a young age from Gerrit Wiegman, a well-known Rotterdam painter. What started as a juvenile interest grew into a life in which looking, sketching, color, and painting were central.

After the war, Jan began as an artist together with his brother Siem. They painted portraits on the Kralingse Plas and later worked from a studio on Schietbaanlaan in Rotterdam. There arose also a drawing and painting school, where they taught and further developed their own work.

In late 1947, Jan and Siem moved their studio to De Hof van Cyrene in Overschie. This place became an important part of their life as artists. The surroundings offered space, nature, and inspiration. Jan felt free to work outdoors there and to capture impressions of landscape, water, and city.

From 1959 onward, Jan continued as an independent painter. His work remained closely tied to harbor views, cityscapes, landscapes, still lifes, and the Dutch light. At the same time, maintaining a large family required practical choices. Consequently, he sometimes combined his artistry with other activities and commercial assignments.

Nevertheless, painting always remained the core of his life. Later in life he returned daily to his studio. From his home in Rotterdam-Ommoord he kept working on new paintings, often inspired by earlier sketches, travels, memories, and the subjects that continued to fascinate him.

His work shows a painter attentive to atmosphere, color, and composition. Not the spectacular took precedence, but the gaze of someone who kept looking at light, water, city, nature, and everyday life. That dedication is visible in the collection he left behind.

Working method

Jan Schaeffer worked from observation. During excursions to towns, landscapes, or nature reserves he often carried a sketchbook. There he captured first impressions: the lines of a facade, the light above the water, the stance of an animal, or the mood of a landscape.

At home he developed these sketches further. Sometimes he used watercolor to capture color impressions, after which he developed the composition on canvas at a later stage. His paintings thus arose from a combination of direct perception, memory, and craftsmanship.