Lodewijk Schelfhout

Lodewijk Schelfhout ( The Hague , August 23, 1881 - Amstelveen , November 5, 1943 ) was a Dutch painter and graphic artist. He has also worked as a ceramist, goldsmith, glass painter and furniture designer.

Life

Lodewijk, also Louis, Schelfhout was born as the fourth son of Henri Schelfhout (1838-1910) and Ange Mara Picnot.  His grandfather Andreas Schelfhout (1787-1870) was a well-known landscape painter. Louis's mother was known as the designer of Princess Wilhelmina 's christening dress . In Haarlem Lodewijk attended the applied arts school. In 1900 he left for Germany, where he made a living as a house painter and pianist (in the evenings). When he returned he worked as a painter in the workshop of Theophile de Bock . In 1903 he moved to the Montparnasse district of Paris. In Paris he interacted with several artists:Piet Mondrian , Conrad Kickert , Peter Alma , Jacoba van Heemskerck , Henri Le Fauconnier , Auguste Herbin , Fernand Léger and Albert Gleizes . In 1913 Lodewijk Schelfhout returned to the Netherlands and went to live in Hilversum. In 1914 he married the philosopher Albertine van der Meulen . In 1927 he became a Roman Catholic .

Work

Lodewijk Schelfhout loved the work of Paul Cézanne and Vincent van Gogh . He is one of the first Dutch painters to be influenced by Cubism , especially under the influence of Henri Le Fauconnier.

Schelfhout stood at the cradle of the Modern Art Circle (Amsterdam) founded in 1910 by Conrad Kickert. During the first exhibition of this circle in the autumn of 1911, Schelfhout's work hung on the ultra-modern 'French' Cubism and the other latest Dutch art. Schelfhout encouraged Piet Mondrian to come to Paris to follow the latest artistic developments there. Mondrian moved in with Schelfhout for some time, who now lived in a Kickert studio house. In 1912 both moved to another studio complex of Kickert: Rue du Départ 26, Montparnasse. The Moderne Kunstkring only lasted a few years. Schelfhout, Gestel, Sluijters and Mondriaan eventually turned away from it and each went his own way.Chris Enthoven was a student of his. After 1913, Schelfhout drastically changed theme and method. He left cubism behind and both more symbolistic and religious work emerged. He also liked to portray the Southern European landscape so loved by him in a romantic way. The drypoint increasingly replaced his brush and eventually Schelfhout became a valued graphic artist.

Subjects in his work are: trees, landscapes, nude figures, portraits, religious scenes and still lifes. He also designed book bindings for the publishers Van Loghum Slaterus, Romen and CAJ van Dishoeck . After 1920 the Roman Catholic Church became an important client. He has designed several Stations of the Cross , altar panels, communion rails, pulpits and stained glass windows and made many dry needles with Biblical themes. He also designed stained glass windows for the chapel of the Ludgerus Kweekschool in Hilversum , now part of the EOstudios and for the Vredeskerk in Amsterdam. For a further insight into his life and work, see the biography written by art and cultural scientist Lisette Almering-Strik (MA), entitled 'Lodewijk Schelfhout, Dutch first cubist' (Waanders, 2018).

In 2018, a Schelfhout exhibition took place in the Singer Museum Laren , duration 26 January - 6 May.

Exhibitions (selection)

1907 Salon des Indépendents, Paris

1908 Salon des Indépendents, Paris

1911 Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam , Modern Art Circle

1915 Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (solo)

1920 Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (with Pablo Picasso and Bernard Essers )

1922 Galerie Billet, Paris (with Piet van Wijngaerdt )

1934 Museo Nacional, Barcelona (group show)

1952 Print Room Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

1956 Gemeentemuseum The Hague (group exhibition)

2006 Oude Kerkje in Kortenhoef (group exhibition with contemporaries, see Literature)

2018 Singer Laren , (solo exhibition Lodewijk Schelfhout, the Netherlands' first cubist )

Collections

In the Netherlands, work by Schelfhout can be found in the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo, the Catharijneconvent Museum in Utrecht, the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag and the Singer Museum in Laren. Abroad it is mainly present in private collections and museum depots.