“Oudekerk in Holland”, Van Couver Jan – Koekkoek Hermanus Jr.

Beautiful view of the historical neighborhood Oude Kerk in Amsterdam at the break of daw.  Oil on canvas signed lower right, the artist situated the work on the back. Work from his London period.

Size: H 51cm x W 77 cm – H 70cm x W 94cm

Holland School, circa 1870-1909.

Lit : Hermanus Koekkoek the younger was a Dutch painter, best known for his seascapes. He also worked under the pseudonyms Jan van Couver and Louis van Straaten.

Hermanus Koekkoek de Jonge was part of the famous Koekkoek family of painters. He was the grandson of Johannes Hermanus Koekkoek, nephew of the famous landscape painter Barend Cornelis Koekkoek and son of Hermanus Koekkoek the Elder (1815-1887). His son Stephen Robert Koekkoek (1887-1934) also chose to become a painter.

Hermanus Koekkoek the Younger, like his 3 brothers, was educated by his father, who had just settled in Amsterdam. In the 1860’s he travelled regularly to London, to settle permanently there in 1869. He successfully ran an art dealership there and, in addition to his own work, he also sold many paintings by his family members. As a painter he focused mainly on sea, river and beach scenes, in the romantic-realistic style. His later work is less romantic and shows emphatic influences of the Hague School. In his London period he often worked under the pseudonyms Jan van Couver and Louis van Straaten. He regularly collaborated with painter Lion Schulman (1851-1943).