Folke Heybroek (September 2, 1913 – February 28, 1983) was a Dutch

expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

artist, monumental sculptor, illustrator, textile designer and stained-glass designer who spent his professional life in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

where his monumental works decorate more than 70 public spaces, churches and schools. Both he and his wife, Brita Horn-Heybroek, were prominent members of the prestigious

Eskilstuna Eskilstuna () is a city and the seat of Eskilstuna Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden. The city of Eskilstuna had 67,359 inhabitants in 2015, with a total population of 100,092 inhabitants in Eskilstuna municipality (2014). Eskilstuna has ...

Art Society.

Early life

Folke Heybroek was born in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

to a Dutch banker and Swedish mother and was the youngest of four brothers. He studied art at the Amsterdam

Rijksakademie The Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten (State Academy of Fine Arts) was founded in 1870 in Amsterdam. It is a classical academy, a place where philosophers, academics and artists meet to test and exchange ideas and knowledge. The school support ...

under

Heinrich Campendonk Heinrich Mathias Ernst Campendonk (3 November 1889 – 9 May 1957) was a painter and graphic designer born in Germany who became a naturalized Dutch citizen. Life Campendonk was born in Krefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He was the ...

(1889–1957) a German expressionist who taught Decorative Art,

printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed techniq ...

and

stained-glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

.Folke Heybroek profile at FolkeHeybroek.com
/ref> In 1938 Heybroek met his wife Brita Horn (born 1905) in the fishing village of

Nordingrå Nordingrå () is a locality situated in Kramfors Municipality, Västernorrland County, Sweden, with 306 inhabitants in 2010. It is also a parish of some 50 villages, with a population of about 1500. Nordingrå is a part of the ''Höga Kusten'' (Hi ...

, Sweden, where he was painting landscapes. She was a Swedish aristocrat who had studied art at the Konstakademie in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, travelled through Italy and Sicily, and become both an accomplished painter and published art critic.

Working life

In 1939 Heybroek married Brita Horn in

Birger Jarlsgatan Birger Jarlsgatan is one of the longest streets in central Stockholm, Sweden. The street forms the border between Östermalm and the two neighbouring districts Norrmalm and Vasastaden. It is named after Birger Jarl since 1885, then "Birger Ja ...

, Stockholm; had his first solo exhibition at the van Lier gallery in Amsterdam; and moved to

Monreale Monreale (; ; Sicilian: ''Murriali'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, in Sicily, southern Italy. It is located on the slope of Monte Caputo, overlooking the very fertile valley called ''"La Conca d'oro"'' (the Golde ...

near

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. The same year his work was included in the exhibition and sale ''

Onze Kunst van Heden Onze Kunst van Heden (Contemporary Artists/Our Art of Today) was an exhibition held in the winter of 1939 through 1940 at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Due to the threat of invasion in the years leading up to World War II, the Netherlands' go ...

'' (Our Art of Today) at the

Rijksmuseum The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the St ...

in Amsterdam. In 1940, only Horn's Swedish nationality prevented their internment by the

fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

Italian authorities. Thus their first daughter, Mieke Marion, was born in

Mariefred Mariefred is a locality situated in Strängnäs Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 3,726 inhabitants in 2010. The name is derived from that of the former Carthusian monastery here, Mariefred Charterhouse, and means "Peace of Mary" ( ...

near

in June 1940. In 1942 Heybroek held a critically acclaimed exhibition at the

Gummeson Gallery The Gummeson Gallery, (''Galleri Gummeson'') is a Contemporary art gallery situated on Strandvägen in Stockholm, Sweden. History It was launched in 1912 by Carl Gummeson, a local bookdealer, and quickly gained a reputation for its support of Mod ...

in Stockholm, selling circa 60 works, oil paintings, gouaches and drawings, his expressionistic style at this stage was strongly redolent of

Van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inclu ...

. This show lead to a commission for the

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

''Midsummer'' for a factory canteen and started a career of public murals, sculptures and stained glass work. Throughout his career he created decorative art, public sculpture, installations and stained glass windows for more than thirty churches and forty schools plus courthouses and community halls.http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/blogon/2007/07/folke_heybroek_saatchi_online.php#more Profile by Ana Finel Honigman at Saatchi Online In the late 1940s Heybroek formed a professional partnership with the interior designer

Alice Lund Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

whereby he contributed abstract textile designs, an example of which still hangs in the courthouse in

Borlänge Borlänge is a locality in Dalarna County, Sweden with 44,898 inhabitants as of 2020. It is the seat of the Borlänge Municipality with a total population of 51,604 inhabitants as of 2017. History Originally Borlänge was the name of a tin ...

. In the early 1950s Heybroek illustrated a Swedish compendium of

Greek Mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

and a copy of Homer's ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...

''. Since 1959 his sculpture of animals depicting human vices and virtues has fronted the Sala judicial center in

Västmanland Västmanland ( or ), is a historical Swedish province, or ''landskap'', in middle Sweden. It borders Södermanland, Närke, Värmland, Dalarna and Uppland. Västmanland means "(The) Land of the Western Men", where the "western men" (''västerm ...

. Heybroek died on 28 February 1983 in

Zierikzee Zierikzee () is a small city in the southwest Netherlands, 50 km southwest of Rotterdam. It is situated in the municipality of Schouwen-Duiveland, Zeeland. The city hall of Schouwen-Duiveland is located in Zierikzee, its largest city. Zierikze ...

Public works

1943 ''Midsummer'', L.M.K. Machine Tools, Skefco, Sweden
1961 ''Earth, Wind, Sea'', Eriksbergs School, Granitvägen, Sweden
1980 ''The Chancel Window'', Oglunda Church, Sweden
???? ''Steel Balustrade'', SSAB (Svenskt Stål AB), Domnarvet Steel Works, Stora Kopperberg
???? ''Six Days of Creation'', Falun Community Centre.
???? ''Story of Brewing'', Carlsberg's Falcon brewery, Falkenberg. Wikipedia Sweden
???? Church at Ånge, Västernorrlands län, Sweden
???? Church at Östersund,
???? Church at Hörken
???? Church at Aspeboda
???? School at Lerum
???? School at Kalix, Upsala, Sweden
???? School at Uppsala.

References

External links

Folke Heybroek profile and Gallery at FolkeHeybroek.com

Folke Heybroek review at Saatchi-Online Gallery by Ana Finel Honigman

''Cows in Landscape'' by Folke Heybroek at ArtNet

Selection of Images at FolkeHeybroke.com

* Galleri Gummeson at Wikipedia Sweden {{DEFAULTSORT:Heybroek, Folke 1913 births 1983 deaths Post-impressionist painters Expressionist painters Dutch painters Dutch male painters 20th-century Swedish painters Swedish male painters Swedish male sculptors Dutch male sculptors Painters from Amsterdam 20th-century Dutch sculptors 20th-century Dutch male artists 20th-century Swedish male artists 21st-century Swedish male artists