Ink and pastel on paper

signed lower right

Imagesize 42 x 47 cm. Total Dimensions 56 x 60 cm.

Framed with museum glass.

The Biography of Theo Kurpershoek (1914-1998) 

Theo Kurpershoek, born in Rotterdam, completed the evening program at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam in the 1930s. During the day, he worked as an advertising illustrator. In 1948, he, along with Hans van Norden and Nicolaas Wijnberg, founded the painters' group De Realisten in response to the growing attention from museums and critics towards abstract art and Cobra. Like other classical-modern Dutch artists, including Otto B. de Kat and Friso ten Holt, Kurpershoek aligned himself with the European modernist tradition of the 20th century.

Kurpershoek gained recognition among the general public as the designer of the Salamander series for Querido publishers in the 1950s. Several of his book designs were awarded the prize for the best-designed book by the CPNB. In addition, Theo Kurpershoek was a skilled graphic artist, creating numerous wood engravings. In the 1950s, he received various commissions for applied art from the municipality of Amsterdam. He also taught at the Rietveld Academy and the Rijksakademie in the same city.

However, the greatest surprise lies in his paintings: colorful self-portraits, still lifes, interiors, portraits, and landscapes. Kurpershoek enjoyed painting in the hilly surroundings of his vacation home near 's Gravenvoeren, just across the border from Maastricht. The vivid colors in his work radiate joy, infused with sunlight.