Chris van der Windt (1877-1952) - Erf met boer en kippen

Christophe van der Windt
Brussels 1877 - 1952 Leiden
Farm with farmer and chickens.
oil paint on panel

A particularly beautiful painting by a Leiden impressionist.
The painting has been recently cleaned and is still on the original list.

Chris van der Windt was a Dutch painter.
Van der Windt is considered part of the Leiden Impressionists, a group of painters also referred to as the Leiden School. Other Leiden Impressionists include Arend Jan van Driesten, Willem van der Nat, Lucas Verkoren, Johannes Cornelis Roelandse, and Alex Rosemeier.
Several works by Chris van der Windt are displayed at the Stedelijk Museum De Lakenhal in Leiden.
Belgian/Dutch, Sint-Jans-Molenbeek 1877 – 1952 Leiden. Chris van der Windt was born in Belgium as the son of a father who was half Dutch and half Belgian, and a Dutch mother. When his father died at the age of forty—Van der Windt was only five at the time—he moved with his mother and two younger brothers to Leiden, his mother's hometown. There, his mother rented a house and a laundry to support her family as a washerwoman.
In elementary school, it becomes clear that Van der Windt has drawing talent. He sells his drawings to the teacher and classmates for a penny or a chalk. That’s why he later attends the craft school to learn the profession of a house painter. He also takes a course in ornament drawing.
Between 1894 and 1897, he worked as a house painter. In Leiden, he also took lessons at Wilhelm Johan Lampe's Drawing School. In 1898 and 1899, he worked as an apprentice with the well-known decorator Pieter Johannes Niesten. During that time, he painted extensively for the City Hall and the Theater in Leiden. In 1900, Van der Windt decided to continue as an independent artist.
Although he did not receive formal academic training as a painter, Van der Windt quickly developed a good, distinctive style and great technical skill. He became not only a proficient oil painter but also skilled in the technically challenging art of watercolor. In the manner of the Hague School, he painted landscapes, farms, and farmyards in the areas around Leiden, Stompwijk, Zoeterwoude, Zoetermeer, Noordwijkerhout, Nootdorp, Rijnsburg, Zegwaard, and Katwijk. He often went out with fellow painters to paint, from five in the morning until late at night. He frequently collaborated with the Leiden painters Arend Jan van Driesten and Alexander Rosemeier, friends for life.
A separate group within Van der Windt's oeuvre consists of his still lifes. 'His use of color in his landscapes and farmyards is entirely in the tradition of the Hague School, kept sober with a lot of gray, brown, and green tones.'
Within a few years, Van der Windt's talent was discovered by the art trade. Between 1903 and 1917, he sold many works through the renowned art dealership Boussod en Valadon & Cie in The Hague. Not all of his work remained in the Netherlands; much was sold to Great Britain, America, and Canada. At Boussod en Valadon, he met renowned Hague School painters such as Willem Maris and Willem Bastiaan Tholen, who highly valued his work. The famous Jozef Israëls even asked Van der Windt in 1907 if he wanted to become a member of the prestigious ‘Hollandsche Teekenmaatschappij,’ which was a great honor at the time.
Van der Windt sees his prices for his work rise during this period and is able to live well from it. After Boussod and Valadon closed in 1917, he mainly sells his work through the well-known art dealer and picture frame maker Sala, which has branches in Leiden and The Hague.

The painting is carefully packaged and sent by registered mail.