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Gerard Pieter Adolfs

January 01, 1970

Gerard Pieter Adolfs (born 2 January 1897 in Semarang, Central-Java; died 1 February 1968 in 's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands) was a Dutch East Indies painter and architect. In the 1930s – at the height of his artistic career – the press called G.P. Adolfs the "Wizard of Light".

Gerard Pieter Adolfs
Self-portrait in 1946
Born(1898-01-02)2 January 1898
Semarang, Central-Java
Died1 February 1968(1968-02-01) (aged 70)
s'Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
NationalityDutch
Known forPainting, Architecture
Portrait in 1937

Biography edit

 
Vogelkoopers (1947)

Adolfs spent his youth in Java and received at home his first artistic inspirations. His father, Gerardus Cornelis Adolfs, was an architect and a versatile amateur (painter, photographer, piano and violin player as well as a pole vaulter). Adolfs studied architecture in Amsterdam. After graduating, he was drawn back to Java, where he designed houses in Yogyakarta, Surakarta and Surabaya. But soon he swapped the drawing pen for the dry-point, pencil and brush and from then on dedicated his whole life to painting.

He was already well known as a talented advertising illustrator, when in 1924 he was first introduced to the public of Yogyakarta as a painter, water-colourist and graphic artist. Each year Adolfs travelled for a few months. He had studios in Florence, Rome, Vienna, Budapest, Prague and - together with his Japanese friend Léonard Tsuguharu Fujita - in Paris and exhibited his works of art internationally (Netherlands Indies, Japan, Singapore, United States, England, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, France, Switzerland…).

The main subjects of his work were scenes of Java, Bali, Japan and of North Africa (market sceneries, cock-fights, landscapes and townscapes). In 1940 – shortly before the occupation of the Netherlands – Adolfs came back to Europe and settled in Amsterdam. On 22 February 1944, during an exhibition at the Kunstzaal Pollmann, the largest part of Adolfs' paintings was destroyed by the bombardment of Nijmegen. Adolfs kept on working. He wrote and illustrated a book about his memories of Surabaya and exhibited in many well-known galleries. He lived mostly in Amsterdam - interrupted by longer stays in Scandinavia, France, Spain, Italy and North Africa. In 1967 he retired to a small village in South-Holland. On 1 February 1968, G.P. Adolfs died in 's-Hertogenbosch, North Brabant.

Critics edit

Amongst those who have brought drawings and paintings from the Dutch East Indies, G.P. Adolfs stands out on account of the striking frankness of his style. These are not the aperçus of a typical Dutch painter seeking to achieve atmosphere and tone at all costs; but neither is there any forced exoticism in the style. He knows how to inform us directly and spontaneously of the atmosphere of a particular location – both in his paintings and in his sketches and water-colours. He tells us about the special mixture of the intimate and the fantastic in an old quarter of Surabaya and about the phantasmagorical might of a tall temple gate topped with a monstrous idol; he tells us about the epic quality of the lakes with proa boats sailing on them; and about the graceful indolence of local people leaning against broken walls. He has the unpretentiousness of true inspiration, and some of his compositions – the one with the temple gates and the one with the well – convey a strong and strange enchantment to the observer.

— De Telegraaf, De Telegraaf, Amsterdam, 2 June 1929

'Many are called, but few are chosen!' One of those few is Ger. P. Adolfs, whose income as a painter allows him to travel to Europe, Japan and China for instance.

— Java Bode, Java Bode, Batavia, 30 November 1936

His paintings are among the best we have seen for expressing the spirit, the colour and the vivid sunshine of this part of the world.

— The Malayan Tribune, The Malayan Tribune, 28 Jan. 1938

…what rich colours! And those little warong scenes, that cockfight, those dancers. . . They are all real. And so are the colours. It all goes straight to the heart of the matter. It's all been captured on the canvas with talent and feeling. This is the vision of an artist who has travelled across the Orient for twenty years, seeking to fathom the soul, the inner being of his living themes. He has fathomed them.

— De Telegraaf, De Telegraaf, 13 July 1940

In his works he has always attempted to represent the light, colour and the simple joy of life that impregnates the native scenes of the East. As can be seen from the works reproduced, he has a bold, vigorous style, applying his pigments with quick strokes of the palette knife.

— The Studio, The Studio, London, October 1950

Bibliography edit

  • Adolfs, G.P.: SOERABAIA. Jacob van Campen, Amsterdam, 1946/1947.
  • Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon. Hrsg. Meissner, Günther, VEB E.A. Seemann Verlag, Leipzig, 1983
  • Borntraeger-Stoll, Eveline & Orsini, Gianni: Gerard Pieter Adolfs - The Painter of Java and Bali. Pictures Publishers,
    The Netherlands, 2008, ISBN 978-90-73187-62-7.
  • Dermawan, A. T.: A collector's journey - Modern painting in Indonesia: Collection of Jusuf Wanandi.
    Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Jakarta and Neka Museum, Ubud, 1996.
  • Habnit, F.F.: Krèta Sètan, de duivelswagen. Autopioniers van Insulinde. Tong Tong, Den Haag, 1977.
  • Haks, L., Maris, G.: Lexicon of foreign artists who visualized Indonesia 1600 -1950.
    Gert Jan Bestebreurtje, Utrecht, 1995.
  • Hart, George H.C.: Het sprookje van de kleine prinses, het arme waschmeisje en de vlinder. Melbourne, 1943. First published in Surabaya, 1928.
  • Holt, C.: Art in Indonesia, Continuities and Change. Cornell University Press, Ithaca New York, 1967.
  • Java-China-Japan-Line: Bali and Java. De Unie, 1938.
  • Lee Man Fong: Paintings and Statues from the President Sukarno of the Republic of Indonesia,
    II. Publishing Committee of Collection of paintings and statues of President Sukarno, Jakarta, 1964.
  • Scheen, Pieter A.: Lexicon: Nederlandse beeldende kunstenaars 1880 - 1980.
    Pieter A. Scheen B.V., The Hague, 1981.
  • Spanjaard, H.: Exploring Modern Indonesian Art: The Collection of Dr Oei Hong Djien .
    SNP Editions, Singapore, 2004.
  • Spruit, R.: Indonesische Impressies. Oosterse thema's in de westerse schilderkunst.
    Pictures Publishers, Wijk en Aalburg, 1992.
  • Studio, the, A Magazine of Fine and Applied Art. Vol. 94 No 412, July 1927, 62 - 63.
  • Studio, the, A Magazine of Fine and Applied Art. Vol. 140 No 691, October 1950, 116 - 117.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gerard Pieter Adolfs.

January 01, 1970
gerard, pieter, adolfs, born, january, 1897, semarang, central, java, died, february, 1968, hertogenbosch, netherlands, dutch, east, indies, painter, architect, 1930s, height, artistic, career, press, called, adolfs, wizard, light, self, portrait, 1946born, 18. Gerard Pieter Adolfs born 2 January 1897 in Semarang Central Java died 1 February 1968 in s Hertogenbosch the Netherlands was a Dutch East Indies painter and architect In the 1930s at the height of his artistic career the press called G P Adolfs the Wizard of Light Gerard Pieter AdolfsSelf portrait in 1946Born 1898 01 02 2 January 1898Semarang Central JavaDied1 February 1968 1968 02 01 aged 70 s Hertogenbosch NetherlandsNationalityDutchKnown forPainting Architecture Portrait in 1937 Contents 1 Biography 2 Critics 3 Bibliography 4 External linksBiography edit nbsp Vogelkoopers 1947 Adolfs spent his youth in Java and received at home his first artistic inspirations His father Gerardus Cornelis Adolfs was an architect and a versatile amateur painter photographer piano and violin player as well as a pole vaulter Adolfs studied architecture in Amsterdam After graduating he was drawn back to Java where he designed houses in Yogyakarta Surakarta and Surabaya But soon he swapped the drawing pen for the dry point pencil and brush and from then on dedicated his whole life to painting He was already well known as a talented advertising illustrator when in 1924 he was first introduced to the public of Yogyakarta as a painter water colourist and graphic artist Each year Adolfs travelled for a few months He had studios in Florence Rome Vienna Budapest Prague and together with his Japanese friend Leonard Tsuguharu Fujita in Paris and exhibited his works of art internationally Netherlands Indies Japan Singapore United States England Netherlands Sweden Norway France Switzerland The main subjects of his work were scenes of Java Bali Japan and of North Africa market sceneries cock fights landscapes and townscapes In 1940 shortly before the occupation of the Netherlands Adolfs came back to Europe and settled in Amsterdam On 22 February 1944 during an exhibition at the Kunstzaal Pollmann the largest part of Adolfs paintings was destroyed by the bombardment of Nijmegen Adolfs kept on working He wrote and illustrated a book about his memories of Surabaya and exhibited in many well known galleries He lived mostly in Amsterdam interrupted by longer stays in Scandinavia France Spain Italy and North Africa In 1967 he retired to a small village in South Holland On 1 February 1968 G P Adolfs died in s Hertogenbosch North Brabant Critics editAmongst those who have brought drawings and paintings from the Dutch East Indies G P Adolfs stands out on account of the striking frankness of his style These are not the apercus of a typical Dutch painter seeking to achieve atmosphere and tone at all costs but neither is there any forced exoticism in the style He knows how to inform us directly and spontaneously of the atmosphere of a particular location both in his paintings and in his sketches and water colours He tells us about the special mixture of the intimate and the fantastic in an old quarter of Surabaya and about the phantasmagorical might of a tall temple gate topped with a monstrous idol he tells us about the epic quality of the lakes with proa boats sailing on them and about the graceful indolence of local people leaning against broken walls He has the unpretentiousness of true inspiration and some of his compositions the one with the temple gates and the one with the well convey a strong and strange enchantment to the observer De Telegraaf De Telegraaf Amsterdam 2 June 1929 Many are called but few are chosen One of those few is Ger P Adolfs whose income as a painter allows him to travel to Europe Japan and China for instance Java Bode Java Bode Batavia 30 November 1936 His paintings are among the best we have seen for expressing the spirit the colour and the vivid sunshine of this part of the world The Malayan Tribune The Malayan Tribune 28 Jan 1938 what rich colours And those little warong scenes that cockfight those dancers They are all real And so are the colours It all goes straight to the heart of the matter It s all been captured on the canvas with talent and feeling This is the vision of an artist who has travelled across the Orient for twenty years seeking to fathom the soul the inner being of his living themes He has fathomed them De Telegraaf De Telegraaf 13 July 1940 In his works he has always attempted to represent the light colour and the simple joy of life that impregnates the native scenes of the East As can be seen from the works reproduced he has a bold vigorous style applying his pigments with quick strokes of the palette knife The Studio The Studio London October 1950Bibliography editAdolfs G P SOERABAIA Jacob van Campen Amsterdam 1946 1947 Allgemeines Kunstlerlexikon Hrsg Meissner Gunther VEB E A Seemann Verlag Leipzig 1983 Borntraeger Stoll Eveline amp Orsini Gianni Gerard Pieter Adolfs The Painter of Java and Bali Pictures Publishers The Netherlands 2008 ISBN 978 90 73187 62 7 Dermawan A T A collector s journey Modern painting in Indonesia Collection of Jusuf Wanandi Centre for Strategic and International Studies Jakarta and Neka Museum Ubud 1996 Habnit F F Kreta Setan de duivelswagen Autopioniers van Insulinde Tong Tong Den Haag 1977 Haks L Maris G Lexicon of foreign artists who visualized Indonesia 1600 1950 Gert Jan Bestebreurtje Utrecht 1995 Hart George H C Het sprookje van de kleine prinses het arme waschmeisje en de vlinder Melbourne 1943 First published in Surabaya 1928 Holt C Art in Indonesia Continuities and Change Cornell University Press Ithaca New York 1967 Java China Japan Line Bali and Java De Unie 1938 Lee Man Fong Paintings and Statues from the President Sukarno of the Republic of Indonesia II Publishing Committee of Collection of paintings and statues of President Sukarno Jakarta 1964 Scheen Pieter A Lexicon Nederlandse beeldende kunstenaars 1880 1980 Pieter A Scheen B V The Hague 1981 Spanjaard H Exploring Modern Indonesian Art The Collection of Dr Oei Hong Djien SNP Editions Singapore 2004 Spruit R Indonesische Impressies Oosterse thema s in de westerse schilderkunst Pictures Publishers Wijk en Aalburg 1992 Studio the A Magazine of Fine and Applied Art Vol 94 No 412 July 1927 62 63 Studio the A Magazine of Fine and Applied Art Vol 140 No 691 October 1950 116 117 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gerard Pieter Adolfs http www gerardpieteradolfs com G P Adolfs on artprice com Movie about G P Adolfs oeuvre on YouTube Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gerard Pieter Adolfs amp oldid 1093462528, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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