Johannes Evert Hendrik Akkeringa
Encyclopedia
Johannes Evert Hendrik Akkeringa (17 January 1861 – 12 April 1942) was part of the second generation of the Hague School
painters. Akkeringa is primarily known for his paintings and watercolours
of women and playing children at the beach, women mending nets and intimate tea-time conversations.
. He was the second child of Johannes Evert Akkeringa (1829–1863), an engineer in the tin mines of the Billiton-Company at Bangka
, and later at Buitenzorg. His mother, Sariedje (born in 1842), was of mixed Chinese
and Javanese ethnic origin. Following the death of his father in 1864 from typhus
, Akkeringa moved with his brother and sister to The Hague
, where they grew up in the household of his aunt.
in The Hague. He quickly befriended fellow student Willem de Zwart
(1862–1931) and other artists studying at the Academy, including Floris Verster (1861–1927) and Marius Bauer
(1867–1932). It is likely that during this period Akkeringa met and became close to the artist Isaac Israels
(1865–1934). At the Academy the courses Akkeringa took focussed on anatomical drawing, drawing from models, as well as studying the arts of perspective and composition. After class Akkeringa, like many of his fellow students, left the city to explore and practice the art of drawing nature, discovering that he was most inspired by the landscape around The Hague. In the spring of 1883 Akkeringa received his degree, though he continued to take classes at the Academy until 1885.
From August 1886 until the end of 1887 Akkeringa took a course at the Rotterdam Academy
. In the same year he participated for the first time in the ‘Living Masters Exhibition’ at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague.
to focus entirely on his painting. During this period, the so-called ‘Loosduinse painters colony’, or ‘The Hague Barbizon
’, began. Artists involved in this movement besides Akkeringa included Willem de Zwart
(1862–1931), who was a great influence on Akkringas style, George Hendrik Breitner
(1857–1923), Jan Toorop
(1858–1928), Theo van Hoytema (1863–1917), Hendrik Otto van Thol (1859–1902), Marius Bauer
(1867–1932) and several others. The artists of the Hague School were attracted to Loosduinen and the surrounding dunes, because the area was viewed as one of the last remaining authentic natural landscapes in the region.
In October 1889, Akkeringa became a member of The Hague art society, Pulchri Studio
. Among others, Akkeringa and Théophile de Brock established a board for the Hague Art Circle. Unlike the Pulchri Studio, the Hague Art Circle included art forms other than painting. On 26 June 1892, Johannes Hendrik Haverman proposed Akkeringa as a friend of the art society 'Arti et Amicitiae'. On 25 February 1897 Akkeringa along with his friend Floris Arntzenius
(1864–1925), was adopted as a member of the 'Hollandsche Teekenmaatschappij', of which he was a board member from 1912 to 1917.
In February 1892, Akkeringa, Jan Toorop, Marius Bauer and Willem de Zwart were commissioned to illustrate a collection of fairy tale
s published by the Amsterdam publishing house Elsevier
. The book, by Louse Ahn-De Jongh, was titled A Book of Imagination, Fairy Tales and Stories and was published in 1893. From November 1892 to October 1896 Akkeringa continued to work as an illustrator
for Elsevier's 'Geïllustreerd Maandschrift' (the 'Illustrated Monthly'), to earn extra money.
in the province of North Brabant
. Their home was known as 'Villa Erica'. The landscape of Heeze is the subject of many of Akkeringa’s paintings. In 1905 the family went to live in Scheveningen, where Akkeringa’s wife Mien died on 12 December 1909.
On 20 April 1917, when Akkeringa was sixty-five, he married the thirty-two year old Elsje Wilhelmine Enter (1895–1969). On 27 August 1921 his third son, Evert Hendrik Jan Akkeringa, was born. In 1932 Akkeringa visited his oldest son Leo, who lived in Paris
; it would be the only foreign trip Akkeringa would ever make.
Akkeringa died at the age of eighty-one. He was buried on 15 April 1942 at Rusthof cemetery in Amersfoort
. In May that year an exhibition was held by members of the Pulchri Studio to commemorate his life and work. On 23 March 1943 the contents of Akkeringa’s studio were auctioned off by the Amsterdam auction house Frederik Muller & Cie.
E.J. van Wisselingh. His work was not only exhibited in Amsterdam
, but also at the London
branch of the company. He participated in several international exhibitions in Hamburg
(1902), Budapest
(1908), Berlin
(1908), Pittsburgh (1904, 1907 and 1909), Buenos Aires
(1910), Brussels
(1910) and the Canadian city of Winnipeg
(1913). From 1903 to 1914 Van Wisselingh organized a yearly exhibition at the Pulchri Studio where the work of Akkeringa was regularly shown with, in April 1904, a joint exhibition of the works of Akkeringa and Jan Toorop. In mid 1909 Akkeringa built a studio in the dune
s at Meijendel, between The Hague and Wassenaar
. The studio was financed by Van Wisselingh and served as a classroom in which Akkeringa taught his students.
In 1914 Akkeringa participated in the Venice Biennale
, and the exposition ‘Tentoonstelling van werk van Nederlandsche, in Indië geboren schilders’ at the Dutch art-circle at Batavia. In 1918, Akkringa passed his secondary vocational-course at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, and he was appointed teacher for hand-drawing. In December 1921 Akkeringa got his first retrospective exhibition in the rooms of the Pulchri Studio. The exhibitions was organized by the art dealer Van Wisselingh. In early 1924 Akkeringa’s contract with Van Wisseling, which included a monthly allowance, ended.
A jubilee exhibition was organized at Pulchri Studio in January 1932 on Akkeringa’s seventy-first birthday. On 17 January 1932 an anniversary celebration was organized at Pulchri Studio, at which Akkeringa received a portfolio by his friends and admirers.
In May 1942 the last retrospective exhibition of Akkeringa's work opened in commemoration of the painter. After this exhibition Akkeringa, and mostly his work, was largely forgotten by the public. In mid 2005, the painter and his work were brought to the attention of the public again by an exhibition, organized by auction house Christie's
Amsterdam, called: 'J.E.H. Akkeringa; schilders van tuin en duin'. His work is regularly sold at auction today.
Hague School
The Hague School is the name given to a group of artists who lived and worked in The Hague between 1860 and 1890. Their work was heavily influenced by the realist painters of the French Barbizon school. The painters of the Hague school generally made use of relatively sombre colours, which is why...
painters. Akkeringa is primarily known for his paintings and watercolours
Watercolor painting
Watercolor or watercolour , also aquarelle from French, is a painting method. A watercolor is the medium or the resulting artwork in which the paints are made of pigments suspended in a water-soluble vehicle...
of women and playing children at the beach, women mending nets and intimate tea-time conversations.
Youth
Akkeringa was born in Blinjoe in the Dutch East IndiesDutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
. He was the second child of Johannes Evert Akkeringa (1829–1863), an engineer in the tin mines of the Billiton-Company at Bangka
Bangka Island
Bangka is an island lying east of Sumatra, Indonesia. Population 626,955. Area: c.4,600 sq mi .There is an additional small island named Pulau Bangka in northern Sulawesi, Indonesia.-Geography:...
, and later at Buitenzorg. His mother, Sariedje (born in 1842), was of mixed Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
and Javanese ethnic origin. Following the death of his father in 1864 from typhus
Typhus
Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
, Akkeringa moved with his brother and sister to The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
, where they grew up in the household of his aunt.
Academy
In the spring of 1878, at the age of seventeen, Akkeringa enrolled at the Royal Academy of ArtRoyal Academy of Art (The Hague)
The Royal Academy of Art, The Hague is an art academy in the Netherlands. It is the oldest art academy in Europe. Known in Dutch as "Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten, Den Haag" it was founded on 29 September 1682 when its predecessor, the Haagsche Teekenakademie was dissolved.- External...
in The Hague. He quickly befriended fellow student Willem de Zwart
Willem de Zwart
Wilhelmus "Willem" Hendrikus Petrus Johannes Zwart , was a Dutch painter, engraver, watercolorist, with many connections to the Hague School....
(1862–1931) and other artists studying at the Academy, including Floris Verster (1861–1927) and Marius Bauer
Marius Bauer
Marius Alexander Jacques Bauer was a Dutch painter and printmaker. He was a member of the Pulchri Studio in The Hague. Later in his life he was created a Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau....
(1867–1932). It is likely that during this period Akkeringa met and became close to the artist Isaac Israels
Isaac Israëls
Isaac Lazarus Israëls was a Dutch painter.The son of the painter Jozef Israëls, Isaac Israëls developed an interest in painting in childhood. Between 1878 and 1880 he studied at the academy in The Hague...
(1865–1934). At the Academy the courses Akkeringa took focussed on anatomical drawing, drawing from models, as well as studying the arts of perspective and composition. After class Akkeringa, like many of his fellow students, left the city to explore and practice the art of drawing nature, discovering that he was most inspired by the landscape around The Hague. In the spring of 1883 Akkeringa received his degree, though he continued to take classes at the Academy until 1885.
From August 1886 until the end of 1887 Akkeringa took a course at the Rotterdam Academy
Willem de Kooning Academy
The Willem de Kooning Academy is a Dutch Academy of art and design based in Rotterdam and named in memory of the famous Dutch artist Willem de Kooning.- Overview :...
. In the same year he participated for the first time in the ‘Living Masters Exhibition’ at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague.
Art societies
Late in 1887, Akkeringa moved to The Hague. Several months later, he moved again to LoosduinenLoosduinen
Loosduinen is a former village in The Netherlands that was a municipality unto itself until 1923. At that time it merged with The Hague, and subsequently became known as the neighbourhood called Stadsdeel of that city.-References:...
to focus entirely on his painting. During this period, the so-called ‘Loosduinse painters colony’, or ‘The Hague Barbizon
Barbizon
Barbizon is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in north-central France. It is located near the Fontainebleau Forest.-Art history:The Barbizon school of painters is named after the village; Théodore Rousseau and Jean-François Millet, leaders of the school, made their homes and died in the...
’, began. Artists involved in this movement besides Akkeringa included Willem de Zwart
Willem de Zwart
Wilhelmus "Willem" Hendrikus Petrus Johannes Zwart , was a Dutch painter, engraver, watercolorist, with many connections to the Hague School....
(1862–1931), who was a great influence on Akkringas style, George Hendrik Breitner
George Hendrik Breitner
George Hendrik Breitner wasa Dutch painter and photographer.-Biography:George Hendrik Breitner was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands. From 1876–1880 he attended the Academy in the Hague where his extraordinary talent was rewarded on various occasions...
(1857–1923), Jan Toorop
Jan Toorop
Jean Theodoor Toorop , better known as Jan Toorop, was an Indo painter, whose works straddle the space between the Symbolist painters and Art Nouveau.-Biography:...
(1858–1928), Theo van Hoytema (1863–1917), Hendrik Otto van Thol (1859–1902), Marius Bauer
Marius Bauer
Marius Alexander Jacques Bauer was a Dutch painter and printmaker. He was a member of the Pulchri Studio in The Hague. Later in his life he was created a Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau....
(1867–1932) and several others. The artists of the Hague School were attracted to Loosduinen and the surrounding dunes, because the area was viewed as one of the last remaining authentic natural landscapes in the region.
In October 1889, Akkeringa became a member of The Hague art society, Pulchri Studio
Pulchri Studio
The Pulchri Studio is an important art institution and art studio based in The Hague, Netherlands. It began in 1847 at the home of painter Lambertus Hardenberg, established with the help of Johan Hendrik Weissenbruch, Jan Weissenbruch, Willem Roelofs, Jan Frederik van Deventer, Willem Antonie van...
. Among others, Akkeringa and Théophile de Brock established a board for the Hague Art Circle. Unlike the Pulchri Studio, the Hague Art Circle included art forms other than painting. On 26 June 1892, Johannes Hendrik Haverman proposed Akkeringa as a friend of the art society 'Arti et Amicitiae'. On 25 February 1897 Akkeringa along with his friend Floris Arntzenius
Floris Arntzenius
Pieter Florentius Nicolaas Jacobus Arntzenius was a Dutch painter, water-colourist, illustrator and printmaker. He is considered a representative of the younger generation of the Hague School....
(1864–1925), was adopted as a member of the 'Hollandsche Teekenmaatschappij', of which he was a board member from 1912 to 1917.
In February 1892, Akkeringa, Jan Toorop, Marius Bauer and Willem de Zwart were commissioned to illustrate a collection of fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
s published by the Amsterdam publishing house Elsevier
Elsevier
Elsevier is a publishing company which publishes medical and scientific literature. It is a part of the Reed Elsevier group. Based in Amsterdam, the company has operations in the United Kingdom, USA and elsewhere....
. The book, by Louse Ahn-De Jongh, was titled A Book of Imagination, Fairy Tales and Stories and was published in 1893. From November 1892 to October 1896 Akkeringa continued to work as an illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
for Elsevier's 'Geïllustreerd Maandschrift' (the 'Illustrated Monthly'), to earn extra money.
Family life
On 15 September 1892 Akkeringa married his niece Willemina Suzanna (Mien) Reedijk (1866–1909), and the young couple moved to a house on the outskirts of The Hague. Shortly afterwards two sons were born, Leonard Johannes (Leo) (1893–1959) and Johannes Evert (Jan) (1894–1983). During their marriage the couple regularly moved around the growing city of The Hague and the nearby village of Scheveningen. Akkeringa preferred to live in homes on the outskirts of the city; not only did the landscapes of where he lived inspire him, but often his sons and their friends became the subjects of his paintings. In April 1903 the family, including his mother-in-law, moved to the village of HeezeHeeze
Heeze is a town in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It is located in the municipality of Heeze-Leende, about 9 km southeast of Eindhoven.Heeze was a separate municipality until 1997, when it merged with Leende....
in the province of North Brabant
North Brabant
North Brabant , sometimes called Brabant, is a province of the Netherlands, located in the south of the country, bordered by Belgium in the south, the Meuse River in the north, Limburg in the east and Zeeland in the west.- History :...
. Their home was known as 'Villa Erica'. The landscape of Heeze is the subject of many of Akkeringa’s paintings. In 1905 the family went to live in Scheveningen, where Akkeringa’s wife Mien died on 12 December 1909.
On 20 April 1917, when Akkeringa was sixty-five, he married the thirty-two year old Elsje Wilhelmine Enter (1895–1969). On 27 August 1921 his third son, Evert Hendrik Jan Akkeringa, was born. In 1932 Akkeringa visited his oldest son Leo, who lived in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
; it would be the only foreign trip Akkeringa would ever make.
Akkeringa died at the age of eighty-one. He was buried on 15 April 1942 at Rusthof cemetery in Amersfoort
Amersfoort
Amersfoort is a municipality and the second largest city of the province of Utrecht in central Netherlands. The city is growing quickly but has a well-preserved and protected medieval centre. Amersfoort is one of the largest railway junctions in the country, because of its location on two of the...
. In May that year an exhibition was held by members of the Pulchri Studio to commemorate his life and work. On 23 March 1943 the contents of Akkeringa’s studio were auctioned off by the Amsterdam auction house Frederik Muller & Cie.
Works and Exhibitions
In 1903, Akkringa was offered a contract by the Amsterdam based art dealerArt dealer
An art dealer is a person or company that buys and sells works of art. Art dealers' professional associations serve to set high standards for accreditation or membership and to support art exhibitions and shows.-Role:...
E.J. van Wisselingh. His work was not only exhibited in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, but also at the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
branch of the company. He participated in several international exhibitions in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
(1902), Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
(1908), Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
(1908), Pittsburgh (1904, 1907 and 1909), Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
(1910), Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
(1910) and the Canadian city of Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
(1913). From 1903 to 1914 Van Wisselingh organized a yearly exhibition at the Pulchri Studio where the work of Akkeringa was regularly shown with, in April 1904, a joint exhibition of the works of Akkeringa and Jan Toorop. In mid 1909 Akkeringa built a studio in the dune
Dune
In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by wind. Dunes occur in different forms and sizes, formed by interaction with the wind. Most kinds of dunes are longer on the windward side where the sand is pushed up the dune and have a shorter "slip face" in the lee of the wind...
s at Meijendel, between The Hague and Wassenaar
Wassenaar
Wassenaar is a town in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. A fairly affluent suburb of The Hague, Wassenaar lies 10 km north of that city on the N44 highway near the North Sea coast. It is part of the Haaglanden region...
. The studio was financed by Van Wisselingh and served as a classroom in which Akkeringa taught his students.
In 1914 Akkeringa participated in the Venice Biennale
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in Venice, Italy. The Venice Film Festival is part of it. So too is the Venice Biennale of Architecture, which is held in even years...
, and the exposition ‘Tentoonstelling van werk van Nederlandsche, in Indië geboren schilders’ at the Dutch art-circle at Batavia. In 1918, Akkringa passed his secondary vocational-course at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, and he was appointed teacher for hand-drawing. In December 1921 Akkeringa got his first retrospective exhibition in the rooms of the Pulchri Studio. The exhibitions was organized by the art dealer Van Wisselingh. In early 1924 Akkeringa’s contract with Van Wisseling, which included a monthly allowance, ended.
A jubilee exhibition was organized at Pulchri Studio in January 1932 on Akkeringa’s seventy-first birthday. On 17 January 1932 an anniversary celebration was organized at Pulchri Studio, at which Akkeringa received a portfolio by his friends and admirers.
In May 1942 the last retrospective exhibition of Akkeringa's work opened in commemoration of the painter. After this exhibition Akkeringa, and mostly his work, was largely forgotten by the public. In mid 2005, the painter and his work were brought to the attention of the public again by an exhibition, organized by auction house Christie's
Christie's
Christie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...
Amsterdam, called: 'J.E.H. Akkeringa; schilders van tuin en duin'. His work is regularly sold at auction today.
Prizes
- A first official token of recognition came on 28 February 1887, when Akkeringa won the Royal subsidy for the year 1887, by the commission of the Royal Subsidies of Arti et Amicitiae.
- In January 1890, Akkeringa won the Willink van Collen-competition with his watercolour ‘Een Wandeling in het duin’. In February 1894, he won the prize for a second time.
- In 1900 Akkeringa won a Gold Medal at the World's FairWorld's FairWorld's fair, World fair, Universal Exposition, and World Expo are various large public exhibitions held in different parts of the world. The first Expo was held in The Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, London, United Kingdom, in 1851, under the title "Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All...
in Paris. - In 1905 Akkeringa received a Silver Medal from Queen Mother Emmaeen, for his work at the exhibition ‘Gemeentelijkse Tentoonstellingen van Kunstwerken van Levende Meesters in Arnhem (derde Vierjaarlijksche)’.
- In 1909 Akkeringa again received a Gold Medal on the exhibition in ArnhemArnhemArnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem has 146,095 residents as one of the...
, and received a second Gold Medal in June on the exhibition ‘X-Internationale Kunst Ausstellung’ in MunichMunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
’. - In May 1910 Akkeringa won a Bronze Meal with a beach view on the ‘Exposición Internacional del Centenario (1910)Exposición Internacional del Centenario (1910)The Exposición International del Centenario was an exhibition held between May and November 1910 in Buenos Aires, to mark the centennial of the May Revolution in Argentina...
’ in Buenos AiresBuenos AiresBuenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
.