Jan Zoetelief Tromp 1872-1947

The Hague, Kunsthandel P.A. Scheen
Private collection, Germany

P.A. Scheen, Lexicon Nederlandse Beeldende Kunstenaars 1750-1850, The Hague 1970, illustration 323

Original canvas. In fine condition. No retouches visible under UV light. Needs cleaning.
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Jan Zoetelief Tromp started his artistic education in 1887 at the Academy of Arts of The Hague. He continued his training at the Rijks Academie of Amsterdam headed by August Allebé (1838-1927), a Dutch genre and still life painter who influenced him heavily. It is through the training he received from this tutor that Jan Zoetelief Tromp acquired a preference for the human figure.

In the beginning of his career Zoetelief Tromp's choice of subjects and style were close to those of the Laren School-painters Albert Neuhuijs (1844-1914) and Anton Mauve (1838-1888). This explains his move to Blaricum in 1899, after his marriage to the daughter of the painter Bernardus Johannes Blommers (1845-1914). Just like most Laren School painters, the subjects he chose were local children and their parents in and around their farmhouses, depicted in dark tonalities.

From 1905 onwards Zoetelief Tromp and his family spent their summers in the coastal village of Katwijk, where eventually they would live on a permanent basis. In this period a change in style manifested itself in Zoetelief Tromp's work. His work evaluated from  accurately drawn to a more flowingly painted, impressionistic style. Shapes became more indistinct and his palette grew more luminous, a change in which critics like Albert Plasschaert (1866-1941) recognised the influence of his father-in-law. Not only his style but also his choice of subjects changed. Instead of the sweet pictures of a mother with her children in and around the Laren and Blaricum farmhouses, he now painted scenes of children, returning from the fields along the dunes, with or without their parents, a little goat or aprons filled with flowers.

This wonderful painting is a good example of the scenes with children returning from the fields along the dunes. These paintings, with bright and colourful compositions, clear blue skies, colourful clothing, blond hair and red cheeks radiate an enormous joy and optimistic view on life. Clearly this optimism was innate to the painter.