Hans Coumans (19 March 1943 – 16 November 1986) was a Dutch painter active in the

South Limburg South Limburg (Dutch: ''Zuid-Limburg'', Limburgish: ''Zuud-Limburg'') is both a COROP (statistical) region as well as a '' landstreek'' (area) of the Netherlands located in the province of Limburg. The Dutch term ''landstreek'', literally transla ...

region,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. He was self-taught and produced approximately 1700 works. He painted in the

Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

painting style.

Biography

Coumans was born and grew up in

Schin op Geul Schin op Geul (, Limburgish: ''Sjin'') is a village in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is located in the municipality of Valkenburg aan de Geul, about 3 km southeast of the town of Valkenburg.''ANWB Topografische Atlas Nederland'', Topograf ...

. Between the ages of 15 and 19 he undertook several long journeys through

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. In 1961 he joined the touring circus company Toni Boltini for six months, in which he worked as an

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

handler. Coumans briefly studied at the

Maastricht Institute of Arts Maastricht Institute of Arts, formerly known as the Academie Beeldende Kunsten Maastricht (Maastricht Academy of Fine Arts and Design) and the Stadsacademie voor Toegepaste Kunsten (City Academy of Applied Arts), is a cluster of visual arts educat ...

and briefly studied with visual artist

Charles Eyck Charles Hubert Eyck (24 March 1897 – 2 August 1983) was a Dutch visual artist. Together with and Joep Nicolas, he was a pioneer of the so-called . Life and work Charles Eyck was born in 1897 in Meerssen. He received his training at the Rijks ...

. He started out as a landscape painter and portraitist, but he earned his living mainly with decorative art, often with the

Heuvelland Heuvelland () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of Dranouter, Kemmel, De Klijte, Loker, Nieuwkerke, Westouter, Wijtschate and Wulvergem. Heuvelland is a thinly populated rur ...

as subject, in dozens of catering companies in

Valkenburg aan de Geul Valkenburg aan de Geul (; li, Valkeberg ) is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the southeastern Dutch Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. The name refers to the central town in the ...

and the surrounding area. He also made (charcoal) quick portraits in bars, at fairs and at all kinds of events. In 1965 he moved for a short time to

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...

and

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 ...

, where he joined the Provo movement. After a few months he returned to

Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...

. In 1969 he went to Spain, where he produced wall scenes in

Benidorm Benidorm is a town and municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencia, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Benidorm has been a tourist destination within Spain since 1925, when its port was extended and the first hotels were built, though ...

Lloret de Mar Lloret de Mar (; ) is a Mediterranean coastal town in Catalonia, Spain. It is south of Girona and northeast of Barcelona. With a population of 38,402 in 2021, it is the second largest town in the Selva comarca of Catalonia. Lloret de Mar attra ...

and Calella de la Costa. He returned to Valkenburg because of problems with payments. There he married Christine van Kempen in 1970. From that moment on, he mainly made paintings of the Limburg hills. In 1976 he moved to

Nuth Nuth (; li, Nut ) is a village and was a municipality in the province of Limburg, situated in the southern Netherlands. In January 2019, the municipality merged with Schinnen and Onderbanken to form Beekdaelen. The village of Nuth has 4,595 inhab ...

and in 1981 to

Bingelrade Bingelrade (; li, Bèngelder ) is a village in the Dutch province of Limburg. It is a part of the municipality of Beekdaelen, and lies about 6 km southeast of Sittard. History The village was first mentioned in 1263 as Binghenrode, and me ...

. Coumans died in 1986 as a result of a car accident.

Painting style

Coumans' style can be classified under

Post-Impressionism Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction ag ...

. His contemporaries worked on abstract and conceptual art, but Coumans painted outside the mainstream and was mainly inspired by nature. His oeuvre includes landscapes, village scenes (cultural heritage),

still lifes A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or man-made (drinking glasses, boo ...

, quickly painted portraits and socially critical works.

Works

File:Hans Coumans portret jongen 1968.jpg, ''Portrait of a Boy'' (1968) File:Hans Coumans portret Christine 1971.jpg, Portrait of Christine'' (1971) File:Hans Coumans portret Christine 1973.jpg, ''Portrait of Christine'' (1973) File:Hans Coumans Bosje bloemen 1973.jpg, ''Bunch of Flowers'' (1973) File:Hans Coumans portret meisje 1974.jpg, ''Portrait of a Girl'' (1974) File:Hans Coumans Geulzicht Valkenburg 1974.jpg, ''View of the Channel Valkenburg'' (1974) File:Hans Coumans Grendelpoort Valkenburg 1975.jpg, ''Grendelpoort Valkenburg'' (1975) File:Hans Coumans portret man 1977.jpg, ''Portrait of a Man'' (1977) File:Hans Coumans portret jongen 1978.jpg, ''Portrait of a Boy'' (1978) File:Hans Coumans portret meisje 1978.jpg, ''Portrait of a Girl'' (1978) File:Hans Coumans portret De kleine revolte 1979.jpg, ''Portrait "The Little Revolt"'' (1979) File:Hans Coumans portret man 1979.jpg, ''Portrait of a Man'' (1979) File:Hans Coumans Boeket 1979.jpg, ''Bouquet'' (1979) File:Hans Coumans Terstraten 1982.jpg, ''Terstraten'' (1982) File:Hans Coumans zelfportret 1983.jpg, ''Self-portrait'' (1983) File:Hans Coumans Winterlandschap 1983.jpg, ''Winter Landscape'' (1983) File:Hans Coumans Grotestraat Valkenburg 1983.jpg, ''Main Street Valkenburg'' (1983) File:Hans Coumans Geulzicht Valkenburg 1983.jpg, ''View of the Channel Valkenburg'' (1983) File:Hans Coumans Stilleven 1983.jpg, ''Still life'' (1983) File:Hans Coumans Terstraten 1984.jpg, ''Terstraten'' (1984) File:Hans Coumans Kersenbloesem 2 1984.jpg, ''Cherry Blossom 2'' (1984) File:Hans Coumans Appelbloesem 1984.jpg, ''Apple Blossom'' (1984) File:Hans Coumans Kersenbloesem 1984.jpg, ''Cherry Blossom'' (1984) File:Hans Coumans Holle weg Bingelrade 1986.jpg, ''Holle weg Bingelrade'' (1986) File:Hans Coumans Veldlandschap Bingelrade 1986.jpg, ''Field landscape Bingelrade'' (1986) File:Hans Coumans Hooibalen Bingelrade 1986.jpg, ''Hay bales Bingelrade'' (1986) File:Hans Coumans zelfportret 1986.jpg, ''Self-portrait''(1986) File:Hans Coumans portret man 1984.jpg, ''Portrait of a Man'' (1984) File:Hans Coumans Stilleven 1984.jpg, ''Still Life'' (1984)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coumans, Hans 1943 births 1986 deaths Dutch male painters People from Schin op Geul