![Theo van Hoytema](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Theo_van_Hoytema.jpg)
Theodorus van Hoytema, or Hoijtema (18 December 1863,
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 ...
- 28 August 1917, The Hague) was a Dutch
lithographer
Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...
, illustrator and graphic designer, known for his book covers and calendars; especially those depicting birds.
Biography
![Het leelijke jonge eendje](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Het_leelijke_jonge_eendje.jpg)
His father was Secretary-General of the Department of Finance.
[Brief biography](_blank)
@ Huygens/Resources. He was the youngest of eight children. Both of his parents died during the 1870s, so he and some siblings moved to Klein Stadwijk, a village in
Voorschoten
Voorschoten () is a village and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. It is a smaller town in the Randstad, enclosed by the cities of Leiden, Wassenaar and The Hague. The municipality covers an area of of whi ...
. There, he received his first drawing lessons from his eldest sister. He attended the
Stedelijk Gymnasium Leiden
Stedelijk Gymnasium Leiden is a gymnasium in the Netherlands. Located in Leiden, it is one of the oldest schools in the Netherlands. Its history dates back to the Middle Ages. The Stedelijk Gymnasium Leiden is the biggest gymnasium-only school ...
and, together with two of his older brothers, passed an exam that enabled them to find work at a financial firm. Theo, however, was not satisfied with office life and decided to become an artist.
[Brief biography](_blank)
@ Christie's.
He began by taking drawing classes at the
Royal Academy of Art. While there, he drew and painted the stuffed animals at the
Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie in Leiden. As a result, his uncle Adriaan van Oordt, Director of
Brill Publishers
Brill Academic Publishers (known as E. J. Brill, Koninklijke Brill, Brill ()) is a Dutch international academic publisher founded in 1683 in Leiden, Netherlands. With offices in Leiden, Boston, Paderborn and Singapore, Brill today publishes 27 ...
, was able to get him his first commissions doing scientific illustrations.
From 1889 to 1890, he became interested in lithography. That same year, he took up temporary residence in a garden house at
Binckhorst Castle. The following year, after the success of his first picture book about birds (''Hoe de vogels aan een koning kwamen''), he was married and moved to
Loosduinen
Loosduinen () is a former village in the Netherlands that was a municipality unto itself until 1923, when it was annexed by The Hague and subsequently became a district of the city.
Within the district there is also a neighbourhood (Dutch:wijk) c ...
. The marriage was, however, short-lived and childless, ending in divorce in 1902.
In 1892, he became a member of the
Haagsche Kunstkring and joined
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 ...
in 1893.
That same year, he produced an illustrated edition of ''
The Ugly Duckling'' by
Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales.
Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...
, followed by several more bird-themed picture books.
He continued to move, restlessly, first to
Voorburg
Voorburg is a town and former municipality in the west part of the province of South Holland, Netherlands. Together with Leidschendam and Stompwijk, it makes up the municipality Leidschendam-Voorburg. It has a population of about 39,000 people ...
then, in 1897, to
Hilversum
Hilversum () is a city and municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is the largest urban centre in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller towns. Hilvers ...
. For a time, he stayed with family members in London. His health became fragile and he was hospitalized for much of 1904 and 1905. He also spent a short time at a psychiatric sanatorium. When released, he went to live with a sister in The Hague and remained there, under her care, for the rest of his life.
Despite his illness, it was during this period that he created the calendars that made him famous. His designs also formed the basis for pottery and furniture.
He and his wife were the models for the main characters in ''Leo en Gerda'' (1911), a novel by about the generation of artists who began their careers in the 1880s.
Items on Timmerman
@ DBNL. A street was named after him in 1923, and a monument was placed there in 2009.
Selected works
File:Hoytema-Peacock.jpg, Peacock
(calendar illustration)
File:Hoytema-Swans.jpg, Swans in the River
File:WLANL - kwispeltail - Return of the stork.jpg, Return of the Stork
File:Hoytema-Dead.jpg, Dead Bird under the Branches
References
Further reading
*"Herinneringen aan Theo van Hoytema", an article by J.G. Veldheer in the monthly journal ''Onze Kunst'', September 1918.
*I.M. de Groot, ''De grafiek van Theo van Hoytema'' (exhibition catalog), 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 ...
, 1977
* Marjan Boot, et al., ''Theo van Hoytema 1863-1917'', Waanders, 1999, in conjunction with the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag
The Kunstmuseum Den Haag is an art museum in The Hague in the Netherlands, founded in 1866 as the Museum voor Moderne Kunst. Later, until 1998, it was known as Haags Gemeentemuseum, and until the end of September 2019 as Gemeentemuseum Den Haag. I ...
and the Drents Museum
The Drents Museum () is an art and history museum in Assen, Drenthe, in the Netherlands. The museum was opened in 1854. It has a collection of prehistorical artifacts, applied art, and visual art. The museum also has temporary exhibitions. In 20 ...
.
External links
The Hoytema Calendars
@ BlogSpot.
''Hoe de vogels aan een koning kwamen''
(How the Birds Came to a King) @ the National Library of the Netherlands
The Royal Library of the Netherlands (Dutch: Koninklijke Bibliotheek or KB; ''Royal Library'') is the national library of the Netherlands, based in The Hague, founded in 1798. The KB collects everything that is published in and concerning the Ne ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoytema, Theo van
1863 births
1917 deaths
Dutch graphic designers
Dutch illustrators
Dutch lithographers
Bird artists
Artists from The Hague
Calendars