The Royal Academy of Art (KABK, nl, Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten) is an art and design academy in
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
. Succeeding the ''Haagsche Teeken-Academie'' (part of the
Confrerie Pictura
The Confrerie Pictura was a more or less academic club of artists founded in 1656 in The Hague (the Netherlands) by local art painters, who were unsatisfied by the Guild of Saint Luke there.
History
The guild of St. Luke in the Hague existed a ...
), the academy was founded on 29 September 1682, making it the oldest in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
and one of the oldest in the world. The academy has been the training ground for a number of significant artists of the
Hague School
The Hague School is a group of artists who lived and worked in The Hague between 1860 and 1890. Their work was heavily influenced by the realist painters of the French Barbizon school. The painters of the Hague school generally made use of relati ...
. It was part of the art movement of Dutch Impressionism and in the immediate vicinity of the II. Golden Age of Dutch painting. In the 19th century, however, training was still strongly oriented towards the classic curriculum. At the end of the 19th century, the academy had opened to Modernism, too.
History
The Royal Academy of Art The Hague, was founded on September 29, 1682 by
Willem Doudijns
Willem Doudijns (1630–1697), was a Dutch Golden Age painter and engraver.
Biography
According to the RKD he learned to draw from Alexander le Petit, and he spent 12 years in Italy. He returned home in 1661, where he collaborated with Jan ...
,
Theodor van der Schuer
Theodor van der Schuer (1634–1707) was a Dutch Golden Age painter.
Biography
Van der Schuer was born and died in The Hague. According to Houbraken he travelled to Italy where he joined the Bentvueghels with the nickname "Vrientschap", or fr ...
,
Daniel Mijtens the Younger
Daniël Mijtens the Younger (7 August 1644, The Hague – buried on 23 September 1688, The Hague), was a Dutch Golden Age painter and the son of Daniel Mytens the Elder, although some early sources indicate that his father was Jan Mijtens. H ...
Augustinus Terwesten
Augustinus Terwesten or Augustinus Terwesten the Elder (4 May 1649 in The Hague – 21 January 1711 in Berlin) was a Dutch painter, draughtsman, printmaker and art educator. He specialized in portraits, architectural and historical themes. He w ...
as the ''Haagsche Teeken-Academie'' (engl.: "The Hague Drawing Academy".) In the evening there were drawings classes and on Saturday the society debated about art.
In the 18th century the Hague Academy was a thriving institution. The end of the 18th century were difficult times due to the absence of any financial support. The low point was around 1800, when the academy was working with less than ten students.
Under
William I of the Netherlands
William I (Willem Frederik, Prince of Orange-Nassau; 24 August 1772 – 12 December 1843) was a Prince of Orange, the King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg.
He was the son of the last Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, who we ...
finally support returned and the old and important institute grew. In 1821 the drawing education was combined with the newly established School of Civil Engineering. After being housed in the Korenbeurs and Boterwaag in 1839, a new neoclassical building was designed by city architect
Zeger Reyers Zeger is a Dutch-language masculine given name. It is derived from the Germanic roots "sigi-" (victory) and "-her" (lord).Si ...
(1790-1857), located at the Prinsessegracht.
In the 19th century the artists
Johannes Bosboom
Johannes Bosboom (18 February 1817 – 14 September 1891) was a Dutch painter and watercolorist of the Hague School, known especially for his paintings of church interiors.
Biography
He was born in The Hague. At the age of 14 he became a studen ...
,
Isaac Israëls
Isaac Lazarus Israëls (3 February 1865 – 7 October 1934) was a Dutch painter associated with the Amsterdam Impressionism movement.
Biography
The son of Jozef Israëls, one of the most respected painters of the Hague School, and Aleida ...
,
Willem Maris
Willem Maris (18 February 1844 – 10 October 1910) was a Dutch landscape painter of the Hague School.
Biography
He was born in The Hague. Willem was the third in a family of five children. His two brothers Jacob and Matthijs Maris preceded him ...
George Hendrik Breitner
George Hendrik Breitner (12 September 1857 – 5 June 1923) was a Dutch painter and photographer. An important figure in Amsterdam Impressionism, he is noted especially for his paintings of street scenes and harbours in a realistic style. He pa ...
were trained here. In 1937 on the site of the ancient temple completed a new academy building designed by J.H. Plantenga (1891–c. 1945), J.W.E. Buijs en J.B. Lürsen.
In 1990 the Royal Academy merged with the
Royal Conservatory of The Hague
The Royal Conservatoire ( nl, Koninklijk Conservatorium, KC) is a conservatoire in The Hague, providing higher education in music and dance. The conservatoire was founded by King William I in 1826, making it the oldest conservatoire in the Netherl ...
into the "School of Visual Arts, Music and Dance". In 2010 the Dutch government elevated the joint institutions to "University of the Arts in The Hague". The two do also still go by their original names as well, to underline their individual identities.
The academy every two years awards the Gerrit Noordzij Prize initial designs.
Buildings
After the year of 1821, she received more importance again, as the ''School voor Burgerlijke Bouwkunde'' was connected to it. Now she moved in the house of the ''Korenbeurs'' (Grain Exchange). This small building was very important for the future of this school.
Later they moved to the ''Boterwaag'' (weighing house for butter). There wasn't enough light for the painting classes. Finally in the year 1839 the Academy got their own house at the ''Prinsessegracht'' - it was built by Zeger Reyers in the architectural style of the
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...
.
In the 20th-century the classes do grow and more place was needed. Thus from 1934-1937 the academy got a new building at Prinsessegracht 4. The new building has been built in the style of the
Bauhaus
The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 200 ...
.The flow of the Bauhaus at Dessau had great influence on the facade design of many public buildings in Europe.
Hague School
At the end of the 19th century witnessed the Hague art scene flourished, which was also very well known abroad as
Hague School
The Hague School is a group of artists who lived and worked in The Hague between 1860 and 1890. Their work was heavily influenced by the realist painters of the French Barbizon school. The painters of the Hague school generally made use of relati ...
. Many well-known artists like Breitner, the brothers Maris (
Jacob Maris
Jacob Hendricus Maris (August 25, 1837 – August 7, 1899) was a Dutch painter, who with his brothers Willem and Matthijs belonged to what has come to be known as the Hague School of painters. He was considered to be the most important and influen ...
and
Matthijs Maris
Matthias Maris (17 August 1839 – 22 August 1917) was a Dutch painter, etcher and lithographer. He was also known as Matthijs Maris or Thijs. He initially belonged to the Hague School, like his two brothers, Jacob and Willem, but his later w ...
) and Bosboom were trained in the academy. In the first half of the 20th century the academy has played a pioneering role in the Netherlands, too.
Under
Bauhaus
The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 200 ...
- influence arose the new departments of photography and design.
In that time the teachers of the
avant-garde
The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
such as
Gerrit Kiljan
Gerrit is a Dutch male name meaning "''brave with the spear''", the Dutch and Frisian form of Gerard. People with this name include:
* Gerrit Achterberg (1905–1962), Dutch poet
* Gerrit van Arkel (1858–1918), Dutch architect
* Gerrit Badenho ...
(1881-1961),
Paul Schuitema
Geert Paul Hendrikus Schuitema (; 27 February 1897 – 25 October 1973) was a Dutch graphic artist. He also designed furniture and expositions and worked as photographer, film director, painter and teacher for publicity design at the Royal A ...
(1897-1973),
Paul Citroen
Roelof Paul Citroen (15 December 1896 – 13 March 1983) was a German-born Dutch artist, art educator and co-founder of the New Art Academy in Amsterdam. Among his best-known works are the photo-montage Metropolis and the 1949 Dutch postage sta ...
(1896-1983) and Cor Alon (1892-1967) dominated. The Academy expanded its curriculum as one of the first Dutch schools by teaching in the field of
industrial design
Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical Product (business), products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in advan ...
.
In 1938 a new building erected on the site of the old house. The design was by the architectural firm ''Plantenga, Buijs & Lürsen''.
Modern times
In 1990, the Academy and the Royal Conservatory joined into the ''Academy of Fine Arts, Music and Dance'' (now ''University of the Arts The Hague'').
In 2000, a general overhaul lead by architect ''Van Mourik Vermeulen'' was carried out, enlarging the campus.
In 2001, a collaboration between
Leiden University
Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...
and the Royal Academy of Art resulted in the first formalised collaboration between a Dutch university and art institute. Royal Conservatory, KABK and
Leiden University
Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...
now offer joint degree programmes, including ones at doctoral level.
The academy's focus on novel technologies and new media has resulted in state-of-the-art workshops, studios and departments such as ArtScience, Interactive/Media/Design and Non-Linear Narrative.
Faculty and emeriti faculty
*
Peter Biľak
Peter Biľak (; born 1973 in Czechoslovakia) is a Slovak graphic and typeface designer, based in The Hague, The Netherlands. He works in the field of editorial, graphic, and type design; teaches typeface design at the postgraduate course Type ...
*
Erik van Blokland
Erik van Blokland (born 29 August 1967 in Gouda) is a Dutch typeface designer, educator and computer programmer. He is the head of the Type Media Master of Design program in Typeface Design at the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague in the Netherland ...
Adam Broomberg
Adam Broomberg (born 1970) and Oliver Chanarin (born 1971) are artists living and working in London.
Together they have had numerous international exhibitions. Their work is represented in major public and private collections. They were awarded th ...
Rob Hornstra
Rob Hornstra (born 1975) is a Dutch photographer and self-publisher of documentary work, particularly of areas of the former Soviet Union.
Early life
Hornstra was born in Borne, Overijssel, Netherlands.
Career
Hornstra studied Social and L ...
*
Donald Weber
Donald Weber is a literary critic and a specialist in Jewish American literature and film studies. He is the Lucia, Ruth, and Elizabeth MacGregor Professor of English and Chair of the English department at Mount Holyoke College.
Background
Weber ...
*
Kees Bol
Cornelis "Kees" Bol (September 21, 1916 – September 16, 2009) was a Dutch painter and art educator. His work was exhibited in art galleries and museums throughout the Netherlands, as well as in Paris. In 1950 Bol was awarded the Thérès ...
Gerrit Noordzij
Gerrit Noordzij (2 April 1931 – 17 March 2022) was a Dutch typographer, typeface designer, and author. He started teaching letters and calligraphy at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague in 1960. Motivated to make type accessible to his stude ...
*
Paul Schuitema
Geert Paul Hendrikus Schuitema (; 27 February 1897 – 25 October 1973) was a Dutch graphic artist. He also designed furniture and expositions and worked as photographer, film director, painter and teacher for publicity design at the Royal A ...
*
Fred Smeijers
Fred Smeijers ( Eindhoven, 1961) is a Dutch type designer, researcher and writer, educated at the ArtEZ Hogeschool voor de Kunsten in Arnhem in the early 1980s.
Smeijers is the creative director and co-founder of the typeface design and publis ...
Johannes Bosboom
Johannes Bosboom (18 February 1817 – 14 September 1891) was a Dutch painter and watercolorist of the Hague School, known especially for his paintings of church interiors.
Biography
He was born in The Hague. At the age of 14 he became a studen ...
*
Isaac Israëls
Isaac Lazarus Israëls (3 February 1865 – 7 October 1934) was a Dutch painter associated with the Amsterdam Impressionism movement.
Biography
The son of Jozef Israëls, one of the most respected painters of the Hague School, and Aleida ...
*
George Hendrik Breitner
George Hendrik Breitner (12 September 1857 – 5 June 1923) was a Dutch painter and photographer. An important figure in Amsterdam Impressionism, he is noted especially for his paintings of street scenes and harbours in a realistic style. He pa ...
Charles Leickert
Charles Henri Joseph Leickert (22 September 1816, Brussels – 5 December 1907, Mainz) was a Belgian painter of Dutch landscapes. As a specialist in winter landscapes, he explored the nuances of the evening sky and the rosy-fingered dawn.
B ...
Willem Maris
Willem Maris (18 February 1844 – 10 October 1910) was a Dutch landscape painter of the Hague School.
Biography
He was born in The Hague. Willem was the third in a family of five children. His two brothers Jacob and Matthijs Maris preceded him ...
*
Jacob Maris
Jacob Hendricus Maris (August 25, 1837 – August 7, 1899) was a Dutch painter, who with his brothers Willem and Matthijs belonged to what has come to be known as the Hague School of painters. He was considered to be the most important and influen ...
*
Matthijs Maris
Matthias Maris (17 August 1839 – 22 August 1917) was a Dutch painter, etcher and lithographer. He was also known as Matthijs Maris or Thijs. He initially belonged to the Hague School, like his two brothers, Jacob and Willem, but his later w ...
Peter Alma
Peter Alma (18 January 1886 Medan – 23 May 1969 Amsterdam) was a Dutch artist. Alma was born in Medan, Indonesia and attended the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague in 1904. On the recommendation of Franz Seiwert he was employed by the Gesellsch ...
Pat Andrea
Pat Andrea (born 1942) is a Dutch people, Dutch contemporary painter and sculptor. He is one of the representatives of the New Subjectivity.
Biography
Pat Andrea was born in 1942 in The Hague, Netherlands. He is the son of the illustrator Metty ...
Joop Beljon
Johannes Jacobus (Joop) Beljon (11 January 1922 - 12 December 2002) was a Dutch artist, academy lecturer, director of academy and writer. As artist he was active as sculptor, fiber artist, lithographer, jeweler, environmental artists, and jewelry d ...
*
Lambert Lourijsen
Lambert Lourijsen; (22 November 1885 – 10 June 1950) was a Dutch cross-disciplinary artist.
Biography
Lourijsen was born as the son of Johannes Lourijsen and Cornelia Maria Petronella Boelen. His brother was the architect]Frans Lourijsen ...
*
Loek Bos
Loek Bos (born The Hague, 4 November 1946) is a Dutch cartoonist, painter and sculptor. He is a member of the Pulchri Studio in The Hague. Among his works is a memorial to the composer Cornelis Dopper, erected in Stadskanaal
Stadskanaal () ...
Jan Cremer
Jan Cremer (; born 20 April 1940, Enschede, Netherlands) is a Dutch author, photographer and painter. His best known work is the novel ' ("I, Jan Cremer"; 1964) and the sequel ''Ik, Jan Cremer, tweede boek'' ("I, Jan Cremer, second book"; 1966) ...
Pierre Tetar van Elven
Peter Henricus Theodorus (Pierre) Tetar Elven (born Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, 30 August 1828 - died Milan, 1 May 1908) was a Dutch painter, draftsman, etcher, watercolorist and panorama painter of the 19th century. He had a preference for architecture, ...
*
Willem van Genk
Willem van Genk (April 2, 1927 – May 12, 2005) was a Dutch painter and graphic artist, celebrated as one of the leading masters of Outsider Art. Throughout his life he lived with severe mental distress, experiencing symptoms related to autism a ...
*
Carli Hermès
Carli Hermès (born 23 April 1963 in Schijndel) is a Dutch photographer and director.
Carli Hermès studied photography at the Royal Academy of Art (The Hague) and The Arts Institute at Bournemouth in England. He became international known wi ...
*
Karel Klinkenberg
Johannes Christiaan Karel Klinkenberg (1852, The Hague – 1924, The Hague), was a 19th-century Dutch painter.
Biography
According to the RKD he was a pupil of Christoffel Bisschop (1828-1904) and Louis Meijer, and became a member of the Pulch ...
*
Gerrit Noordzij
Gerrit Noordzij (2 April 1931 – 17 March 2022) was a Dutch typographer, typeface designer, and author. He started teaching letters and calligraphy at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague in 1960. Motivated to make type accessible to his stude ...
*
Yvonne Oerlemans
Yvonne Oerlemans (31 December 1945 - 14 September 2012) was a Dutch sculptor and video artist who has been active in the field of video art, installations and objects since 1982. Oerlemans created a diverse oeuvre that has been exhibited worldwid ...
Ootje Oxenaar
Robert Deodaat Emile "Ootje" Oxenaar (7 October 1929 – 13 June 2017) was a Dutch graphic artist, visual artist, commissioner, and professor.
Biography
Oxenaar was a student at the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague and graduated in 1953 with hon ...
*
Ru Paré
Henrica Maria Paré (Druten, 14 July 1896 — The Hague, 25 February 1972) was a Dutch resistance member, and visual artist. Ru Paré found shelter and took care of 52 Jewish children, who all survived World War II.
Biography
Henrica Maria Paré ...
*
Rahi Rezvani
Rahi Rezvani ( fa, ; born 1978) is an Iranian-born photographer and film director, based in Amsterdam.
Early life and education
Rezvani was born and raised in Tehran. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in graphic design from Tehran University of ...
*
Matthijs Röling
Matthijs Nicolaas Röling (born March 31, 1943 in Oostkapelle) is a Dutch painter, active as graphic designer, wall painter, painter, draftsman, lithographer, pen artist, etcher, and academy lecturer. He is considered a kindred spirit of the 3rd ge ...