Jan Zoeterlief Tromp (1872-1947) - Samen geitje voeren

This is a beautiful watercolor by the famous painter Jan Zoetelief Tromp 1872-1947.
Feeding a goat together
This watercolor was exhibited at the Jan Zoeterlief Tromp exhibition at the Katwijksmuseum (see photos) and is also depicted in the artist's book.

Jan Tromp was born in the Dutch East Indies. His father, Solco Walle Tromp, was a civil servant there. Henriëtte Gertrude Zoetelief was his mother. He was considered an unruly toddler until it was discovered that his behavior was caused by deafness. At the age of three, he left for the Netherlands with his grandmother, Catharina Johann Maria Zoetelief-Servatius ("Grandma Zoet")[1]. She traveled with him throughout Europe in vain, seeking treatment for his deafness. He attended primary school in Rotterdam at the Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, where he learned to speak and lipread. It wasn't until 1884 that he returned to the Dutch East Indies with his grandmother. There, the surname "Zoetelief" was added to his own name in gratitude for everything his grandmother had done for him.

Education and career
to process
In 1886, the entire family returned to the Netherlands. From 1887, he studied at the Hague Academy of Fine Arts and from 1893 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Amsterdam. Director August Allebé influenced his work towards naturalism and realism. After graduating, he sought connections with the Impressionism of the Hague School. He was accepted into their circle, particularly by Bernard Blommers, and married his daughter, Marie Blommers, in 1899. The scenes he painted are cheerful, carefree, and often bathed in sunshine.

Zoetelief Tromp is a beloved painter among the art-buying public. His style shows an affinity with the Laren School and the Hague School. Like his father-in-law, Blommers, he painted many genre scenes with children. He is known for his paintings and watercolors of peasants and fishermen, and of children playing and bathing on the beach.

He lived and worked in The Hague, Amsterdam, Katwijk (in the summer), and Blaricum (in the winter). There, in 1900, he commissioned the construction of a house on Torenlaan, the Landhuis Thea, designed by architect Willem Cornelis Bauer. Ultimately, this house proved too expensive and was sold in 1919. From then on, Zoetelief Tromp and his family lived in Katwijk year-round.