Otto Boudewijn de Kat (7 June 1907 in

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after R ...

– 30 April 1995 in Laren), was a Dutch painter and art critic. Otto B de Kat - Zelfportret - 1985

Biography

He was born in Dordrecht, but received his training in

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 ...

as a pupil of

Henri Frédéric Boot Henri Frédéric Boot (1877, Maastricht – 1963, Haarlem), was a Dutch painter and printmaker mostly active in Haarlem. Biography According to the RKD he was a pupil of the painters Dirk Gerard Ezerman, Alexander Henri Robert van Maasdij ...

and Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita.Otto B. De Kat
in the RKD He married the poet Maria Jannetta (‘Hans’) van Zijl in 1930. They traveled to Italy, where De Kat's work was exhibited alongside work by

Maurits Cornelis Escher Maurits Cornelis Escher (; 17 June 1898 – 27 March 1972) was a Dutch graphic artist who made mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints. Despite wide popular interest, Escher was for most of his life neglected in the ...

, and France, where De Kat was inspired by

fauvism Fauvism /ˈfoʊvɪzm̩/ is the style of ''les Fauves'' (French language, French for "the wild beasts"), a group of early 20th-century modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong colour over the Representation (arts), repr ...

and the members of the

École de Paris The School of Paris (french: École de Paris) refers to the French and émigré artists who worked in Paris in the first half of the 20th century. The School of Paris was not a single art movement or institution, but refers to the importance ...

. de Kat's work was included in the 1939 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. De Kat was a driving force behind the Kennemer Kunstenaarskring. After the war, he and

Kees Verwey Kees Verwey (April 20, 1900 – July 23, 1995) was a Dutch painter who was productive well into old age. Biography He was born in Amsterdam and was the nephew of the poet Albert Verwey and the architect Hendrik Petrus Berlage. According to t ...

founded the Hollandse Aquarellistenkring and De Kat remained its chairman until after 1965. He moved to Bloemendaal and became a good friend of Godfried Bomans, helping him found the Teisterbant club. De Kat became a member of

Arti et Amicitiae Arti et Amicitiae (lat .: For Art and Friendship) is a Dutch artist's society founded in 1839, and located on the Rokin in Amsterdam. The Society (also called Arti for short) has played a key role in the Netherlands art scene and in particular i ...

where he won the Arti Medal in 1969. Ten years later, in 1979, he received the Jeanne Oosting Prize. He was an art critic for the newspaper Haarlems Dagblad in the years 1951–1955 and wrote for Het Vrije Volk. After 1955 he became a teacher 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 ...

, where he would be a tutor for many artists until 1972. His relationship with Hans van Zijl came to an end, just before she died in 1963. De Kat moved to

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 ...

and remarried in 1964 with Danish artist Dora Dahl-Madsen. The couple spent a lot of time in their second house in France, an inspiring environment for De Kat. Due to health issues they left Amsterdam in 1992 and moved to Laren. He died there, at the age of 88.

Work

As an artist, De Kat was influenced by the École de Paris and painters like

Pierre Bonnard Pierre Bonnard (; 3 October 186723 January 1947) was a French painter, illustrator and printmaker, known especially for the stylized decorative qualities of his paintings and his bold use of color. A founding member of the Post-Impressionist ...

, Édouard Vuillard,

Albert Marquet Albert Marquet (27 March 1875 – 14 June 1947) was a French painter, associated with the Fauvist movement. He initially became one of the Fauve painters and a lifelong friend of Henri Matisse. Marquet subsequently painted in a more naturali ...

en Nicolas de Staël. His paintings are mostly landscapes and still lifes with an intimate, calm atmosphere. His surroundings were his most important source of inspiration. Although he used abstraction in his paintings, he never abandoned reality completely. As a teacher, he focused on craftmanship, the weight of tradition and the interplay between rationality and emotions. De Kat's work can be found in several Dutch museums, like the Frans Hals Museum and Teylers Museum in Haarlem and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.

Public collections

Among the public collections holding works by Otto B. de Kat are: * Frans Hals Museum,

Teylers Museum Teylers Museum () is an art, natural history, and science museum in Haarlem, Netherlands. Established in 1778, Teylers Museum was founded as a centre for contemporary art and science. The historic centre of the museum is the neoclassical Oval R ...

Stedelijk Museum The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (; Municipal Museum Amsterdam), colloquially known as the Stedelijk, is a museum for modern art, contemporary art, and design located in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

, Amsterdam *

Rijksprentenkabinet 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 Ste ...

, Amsterdam *Singer, Laren *Stadsgalerij Heerlen, Heerlen *Museum Henriette Polak, Zutphen *De Wieger, Deurne *Museum Maassluis,

Maassluis Maassluis () is a city in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of in and covered of which was water. It received city rights in 1811. History Maassluis was founded circa 1340 as a se ...

Exhibitions (selection)

* 9 April – 4 June 1978, Frans Hals Museum Haarlem * 1–30 September 1984, Singer Museum Laren * 13 October – 26 November 1989, Museum Henriette Polak Zutphen * 26 September – 15 November 1992, Frans Hals Museum Haarlem * 13 July – 8 September 2002, Frans Hals Museum Haarlem * 15 March – 24 May 2008, Museum De Fundatie Zwolle

References

*Truusje Goedings, Otto B. de Kat: het later werk: schilderijen en aquarellen 1978–1994, Bussum 2008 *Gerard Westerink, Truusje Goedings; Herman van Run, Otto B. de Kat 1907–1995: leven en werk, Bussum 2002
Otto B. de Kat Foundation
website "rkdmonographs" {{DEFAULTSORT:Kat, Otto B. De 1907 births 1995 deaths Artists from Dordrecht 20th-century Dutch painters Dutch male painters 20th-century Dutch male artists