Tjaarke Hendrika Maria Maas (26 October 1974 – June 2004) was a Dutch painter, whose work came to public attention in the late 1990s.

Biography

Tjaarke Maas started to paint in her early childhood, in

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, where her family had immigrated from the Netherlands. At the age of 17 she returned to Europe and studied at the

Willem de Kooning Academy The Willem de Kooning Academy ( nl, Willem de Kooning Academie) is a Dutch academy of media, art, design, leisure and education based in Rotterdam. It was named after one of its most famous alumni, Dutch fine artist Willem de Kooning. Overview ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

. She continued her studies in New York, where she was introduced to the art of

icon painting An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

. At the age of 18, Maas was married, and to support her family began to work as a model, travelling extensively throughout Europe, visiting Japan and Australia. From 1996 Maas lived in

Florence, Italy Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, where she studied at the

Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze The Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze ("academy of fine arts of Florence") is an instructional art academy in Florence, in Tuscany, in central Italy. It was founded by Cosimo I de' Medici in 1563, under the influence of Giorgio Vasari. ...

and graduated in 2003 with diploma cum laude. She combined painting and writing about icons with studying the theology of the image. At the same time, she also wrote poetry, prose and fairy-tales for children. She produced more than 500 artwork, consisting of paintings, etchings, drawings and sketches. At age 26, Maas was diagnosed with

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

. A few years later, Maas found refuge in the forests surrounding the Hermit Monastery of

St. Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christianit ...

(

Eremo delle Carceri The Eremo delle Carceri is a hermitage complex located above sea level in a steep forest gorge upon Monte Subasio, in Umbria, in central Italy, four kilometers above Assisi. The name Carceri derives from the Latin ''carceres'', meaning "isol ...

) to continue her work on icons as commissioned by the priest

Don Gino Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON * Don (river), a river in European Russia * Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin * Don, Dang, a v ...

. She died of a fall from one of the slopes of

Monte Subasio Mount Subasio is a mountain of the Apennine mountains, in the province of Perugia, Umbria, central Italy. On its slopes are located the ancient towns of Assisi and Spello. The mountain stands about 1290 metres above sea level. Its pink color ...

, where she was found on 8 July 2004 at age 29. According to her sister, Marise Maas, her death was due to suicide and Tjaarke had vanished some time earlier. In a small cave, where Maas dwelt, her work on an unfinished icon, an image of the Transfiguration was found. Her artwork had been exhibited in *

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, *

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, RussiaВыставка работ Чаркэ Маас "Пилигрим". (article) 5 мая 2009, http://www.museum.ru/N36558

Works

Portraits

Image:"Henny's teeth" Goldfaced series, egg tempera, gold leaf on wood),sm24.7x20.jpg, "Henny's teeth" Goldfaced series, egg tempera, gold leaf on wood),sm24.7x20,'' 2003, Image:"Cornelius" Goldfaced series, mixed tech. on wood board ,sm 32x24.jpg, "Cornelius" Goldfaced series, mixed tech. on wood board, sm 32x24 Image:"Wietske"_Goldfaced_series_oil,_pigment_on_wood_sm_32X22.5.jpg, "Wietske" Goldfaced series oil, pigment on wood sm 32X22.5 Image:"Friend" Goldfaced series, egg tempera , gold leaf on wood 32X24,5.jpg, "Friend" Goldfaced series, egg tempera, gold leaf on wood 32X24,5

Birds

Image:"Seagulls"_series,_mixed_media_on_gesso-ed_paper,_sm.73X50.jpg, "Seagulls" series, mixed media on gesso-ed paper, sm.73X50 Image:"Seagulls" series, mixed media on gesso-ed paper, sm 72X51.5.jpg, "Seagulls" series, mixed media on gesso-ed paper, sm 72X51.5 Image:"Findings on pietra serena" guatemala series, mixed media,on gesso-ed paper, sm.63X51.jpg, "Findings on pietra serena" Guatemala series, mixed media,on gesso-ed paper, sm.63X51 Image:"Pegions" guatemala series, mixed media on gesso-ed paper sm. 60X50.jpg, "Pegions" Guatemala series, mixed media on gesso-ed paper sm. 60X50

Still life

Image:"Ode_to_1930th"_(fish_composition_with_glass)_oil_on_canvas_sm.40X30.jpg, "Ode to 1930th" (fish composition with glass) oil on canvas sm.40X30 Image:"Silver_tea-pot"_2003,_mixed_media_on_wood,_sm._40,5X35.jpg, "Silver tea-pot" 2003, mixed media on wood, sm. 40,5X35 Image:"Dutch Herring with pot" (mixed media on canvas) sm 50x70.jpg, "Dutch Herring with pot" (mixed media on canvas) sm 50x70 Image:"Catacomb fish" mixed media on canvas sm.19.5X27.jpg, "Catacomb fish" mixed media on canvas sm.19.5X27

Icons

Image:"St.Archangel Michael" egg tempera, gold leaf on wood, sm 32x24.jpg, "St.Archangel Michael" egg tempera, gold leaf on wood, sm 32x24 Image:"St.Jiokim and St.Anna" egg tempera, gold leaf on wood, sm 32x24.jpg, "St.Jiokim and St.Anna" egg tempera, gold leaf on wood, sm 32x24 Image:"St.Archangel Raphael",egg tempera, goldleaf on wood, sm 32x24.jpeg, "St.Archangel Raphael", egg tempera, goldleaf on wood, sm 32x24 Image:"Theotokos" "Eleusa" (Merciful) egg tempera, gold leaf on wood, sm 32x24.jpg, "Theotokos" "Eleusa" (Merciful) egg tempera, gold leaf on wood, sm 32x24

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maas, Tjaarke 1974 births 2004 deaths 20th-century Dutch painters 20th-century Dutch women artists Dutch women painters People from Lopik Willem de Kooning Academy alumni