Tropenmuseum Royal Tropical Institute Objectnumber A-6371c Diorama van een Du feest

Gerrit Schouten (16 January 1779 – 28 January 1839) was a

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

se artist, who has become famous for his painted papier-maché

diorama A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional full-size or miniature model, sometimes enclosed in a glass showcase for a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies such as military vehicle mode ...

s of Surinamese life. Schouten was born in

Paramaribo Paramaribo (; ; nicknamed Par'bo) is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname's ...

, the capital of Surinam, then a Dutch colony. The son of Hendrik Schouten, a Dutch government clerk, and Suzanna Hanssen, a local black woman, he was an

autodidact Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning and self-teaching) is education without the guidance of masters (such as teachers and professors) or institutions (such as schools). Generally, autodidacts are individua ...

and taught himself how to paint. Schouten was the first Creole working as a professional artist. In 1835, he offered a butterfly painting to

William, Prince of Orange William, Prince of Orange (Willem Nicolaas Alexander Frederik Karel Hendrik; 4 September 1840 – 11 June 1879), was heir apparent to the Dutch throne as the eldest son of King William III from 17 March 1849 until his death. Early life Prince Wi ...

during his visit to Suriname. Later he was awarded a gold medal by the House of Orange for his artwork.

References

Literature

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External links

*ANDA Suriname �
Gerrit Schouten
Surinamese artists Surinamese people of Dutch descent 1779 births 1839 deaths People from Paramaribo {{Suriname-bio-stub