Mondrian's Friends - the Early Years

Mondrian began to draw and paint at an early age. He obtained instructions and lessons from his father, from his uncle: the painter Frits Mondriaan, and from the Doetichemse painter Jan Braet von Ueberfeld. For three years attended the painting classes held by the Rijks academie in Amsterdam under 1892-1897 August Allebe. At the turn of the century he worked in the neighbourhood of Amsterdam, at Amstel, Gein (often together with Simon Maris) and Vecht, among other places, and also on a few occasions in Brabant for a short time. He painted landscapes particularly in the style of the Hague and Amsterdam impressionists and admired Breitner. In 1907, Mondrian worked the entire summer at Oele near Hengelo in Overijssel with the painter Hulshoff Poll. In 1908 he probably stayed for a short time in Domburg.  He knew and admired Jan Toorop and became friendly with Jan Sluyters. At the beginning of 1909 a big exhibition together with Cornelius Spoor and Jan Sluyters in the Amsterdam Stedelijk Museum.

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Frits Mondriaan
(1853-1932)

The portrait of Frits was done by Mondrian in 1898.

Frits Mondrian
Willows and Cows
gouache 46.3 x 32.5 cm

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  Jan Braet von Ueberfeld

Information on von Ueberfeld is difficult to find. The only reference I can find on the web accompanies this illustration:

Wie mij kan helpen aan informatie over Jan Braet von Ueberfeld kan rekenen op mijn dankbaarheid. Op de expositie hangt een blad uit het boek dat hij samen met Valentijn Bing maakte: "Nederlandsche kleederdragten, naar de natuur geteekend." (1807 geboren in Langerak, 1894 gestorven in Doetinchem). De man wordt in elke studie over Piet Mondriaan vermeld als een van de leermeesters van de jonge Piet toen die in Winterswijk woonde. Ook bevat de collectie geen enkel werk van kunstenaars die recent actief zijn geweest in Doetinchem. Ik mis bijvoorbeeld werk van Jos Klaver of Theo van Koot.

This might translate (courtesy of Babel) as,

They who me can help to information on Jan Braet von Ueberfeld can count on my gratitude. On the expositie a booklet hangs from the book which he made with valentijn Bing: "Nederlandsche kleederdragten, to nature geteekend." (1807 born died in Langerak, 1894 in Doetinchem). The man is mentioned in each study concerning piet Mondriaan as of the learning masters of the young piet then who lived in winter district. Also the collectie absolutely no work of artists contains which has been recent active in Doetinchem. I miss for example work of Jos clover or Theo van Koot.

The author of the page seems to be having similar problems.


Lithografie uit V.Bing / J. Braet von Uberfeld, Nederlandsche kleederdragten, naar de natuur geteekend.
  August Allebe 1838-1927
 

Art by Mr Allebe is available on the net, but the only information I can find on him is his dates.

August Allebé
Visit to a Museum, 1870

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A peasant girl and child by a well in a farmyard

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Maris and Mondrian at a bullfight, Spain, 1901

Simon Maris 1873-1935

Maris was a painter and friend of Mondrian. They frequently painted landscapes together and in 1901 visited Spain. There are pictures of Maris in the biography section here.

In addition to the painting, I have found a curious entry in the Internet Movie Database. A (not necessarily 'the') Simon Maris appears to have written a 1914 Dutch film Liefde waakt, or De Levende mummie.


Two young girls in the dunes, 1916
Oil on canvas

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  George Hendrik Breitner 1857-1932

George Hendrik Breitner was born in Rotterdam in 1857. In 1876 he enrolled at the academy in The Hague, Breitner passed the drawing exams within a year. However, he was not enthusiastic about the academy's rather traditional educational principles and within a few years he was expelled for 'unruly conduct'.  Later, he worked for a number of years in Willem Maris' studio and helped produce the Mesdag Panorama in Scheveningen. In this early period he was especially influenced by the painters of the Hague School. After moving to Amsterdam, he decided to complete the course at the Amsterdam Rijksacademie. But by now Breitner was a famous artist with his own individual style and his return to college was less than successful.
In 1882 he met Vincent van Gogh, with whom he often went sketching in the poorer areas of The Hague. Breitner preferred working-class models: labourers, servant girls and people from the lower class districts. He saw himself as 'le peintre du peuple', the people's painter. Interest in the lot of the common people, which many artists felt in that period, was nurtured by the social conscience of French writers such as Emile Zola.
Breitner gradually drifted away from the Hague School. In 1886 he moved to Amsterdam, where he recorded the life of the city in sketches, paintings and photos. Sometimes he made various pictures of the same subject, from different perspectives or in different weather conditions. Photos sometimes formed the immediate example for a particular painting, for instance the girls in kimono. On other occasions, Breitner used photography for general reference, to capture an atmosphere, a light effect or the weather in the city at a particular moment.
Breitner painted with a loose brushstroke in an impressionist style. He often worked with Isaac Israels; both painters are counted among the Amsterdam Impressionists. Critics often referred to Breitner's manner of painting as 'unfinished'. But among the younger generation of writers and critics his innovative manner of painting and his Bohemian lifestyle were greatly admired.

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The Dam, Amsterdam, c.1895
watercolour


Oudezijds Achterburgwal, Amsterdam c. 1890-1900
Photograph


Girl in a white kimono, 1894
oil on canvas

  Hulshoff Poll 1883 - 1957

Albertus Gerard Hulshoff Poll or Pol


 


 't Gein, near Abcoude
oil on canvas

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  Cornelius Spoor 1867 - 1928


 


Judaspenning in a jug
oil on cardboard

  Jan Toorop 1858-1928

Dutch painter, born in Java. Studied art in Delft and Amsterdam. A grant allowed him to study in Brussels, where he came into contact with the XX group, and became a member in 1885. He befriended Khnopff, Ensor and de Groux. In 1886, he met Whistler in London. He discovered the Pre-Raphaelites and William Morris' views on art and socialism. In 1890 he developed his own version of Symbolism using elements of a Javanese aesthetic. Met Péladan in 1892. In 1905 converted to Catholicism. His themes thereafter became religious and even mystic. His style simplified and he adopted a technique close to Pointillisme, which he put at the service of a fragmentation of the surface of the painting at poles from the measured unity to which Seurat aspired. These fragmentary surfaces relate Toorop to Expressionism.

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Desire and Fulfillment, 1893
Pastel
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Picking beans in the morning, Domburg, 1905
Pencil and Pastil
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Peasant resting with spade
board

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Jan Sluyters
(1881- 1957)

After a first period fauvist, it was directed towards the cubism before turning to a expressionnism inspired of Van Gogh. It painted scenes of the everyday life, portraits and the naked ones.

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Larens landschap - 1910
59 x 72 cm. olieverf op doek
Stedelijk Museum

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Twee naakten Litho gesigneerd
19 x 18 cm

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