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The Dutch painter prince Barend Cornelis Koekkoek was introduced to painting at an early age by his parents, as his father Johannes Hermanus was already known as a marine painter. It is therefore not surprising that his father's studio was also his favourite place and his father his first teacher. He shared the hobby of his childhood with his four brothers at an early age and finally developed it at the local drawing academy at the age of 14. There he learned to paint after a model by Abraham Krayestein. Five years later, Koekkoek received a scholarship from the Dutch King William I, after which he began his studies at the new Royal Academy of Fine Arts with Jan Willem Pieneman and Jean Augustin Daiwaille. At the age of 20 he already had a diploma and received several awards.
With his teacher Daiwallie he made some study trips to the Harz mountains, to Italy and to the Rhine, where he was completely fascinated by the landscapes and finally chose Kleve as his new home town. "Nature is the perfect painting", he always said, idealizing his landscape paintings in the style of romanticism. Later he married the daughter of his teacher Elise Thérèse Daiwaille, who was also a painter but focused on still lifes. The couple had five daughters, two of whom followed in their parents' footsteps and also became painters. In Kleve he finally founded a college for landscape painting, where he had the pupils paint from models, as he had learned himself.
One of his main works "View of Königstein on the Elbe" was written in the 50s. In the foreground left Koekoek places an oak tree and right of it opens a view into the Saxon Switzerland with the Elbe valley. At the foot of the mountains is the town church of Königstein and behind it the Elbe with the regionally typical cargo gliders. On the other side of the river you can see the town of Halbestadt. In the horizon you can see the Kleiner and the Großer Bärenstein. The picture looks idyllic to the viewer, with untouched nature.
Koekkoek was more successful in his lifetime than many other artists. His artistic activity came to an abrupt end at the age of 56 due to a stroke.
The Dutch painter prince Barend Cornelis Koekkoek was introduced to painting at an early age by his parents, as his father Johannes Hermanus was already known as a marine painter. It is therefore not surprising that his father's studio was also his favourite place and his father his first teacher. He shared the hobby of his childhood with his four brothers at an early age and finally developed it at the local drawing academy at the age of 14. There he learned to paint after a model by Abraham Krayestein. Five years later, Koekkoek received a scholarship from the Dutch King William I, after which he began his studies at the new Royal Academy of Fine Arts with Jan Willem Pieneman and Jean Augustin Daiwaille. At the age of 20 he already had a diploma and received several awards.
With his teacher Daiwallie he made some study trips to the Harz mountains, to Italy and to the Rhine, where he was completely fascinated by the landscapes and finally chose Kleve as his new home town. "Nature is the perfect painting", he always said, idealizing his landscape paintings in the style of romanticism. Later he married the daughter of his teacher Elise Thérèse Daiwaille, who was also a painter but focused on still lifes. The couple had five daughters, two of whom followed in their parents' footsteps and also became painters. In Kleve he finally founded a college for landscape painting, where he had the pupils paint from models, as he had learned himself.
One of his main works "View of Königstein on the Elbe" was written in the 50s. In the foreground left Koekoek places an oak tree and right of it opens a view into the Saxon Switzerland with the Elbe valley. At the foot of the mountains is the town church of Königstein and behind it the Elbe with the regionally typical cargo gliders. On the other side of the river you can see the town of Halbestadt. In the horizon you can see the Kleiner and the Großer Bärenstein. The picture looks idyllic to the viewer, with untouched nature.
Koekkoek was more successful in his lifetime than many other artists. His artistic activity came to an abrupt end at the age of 56 due to a stroke.