# Jan van der Kooi

Jan van der Kooi (born in Groningen, January 16, 1957) is a Dutch painter and drawer in the style of figurative arts. He is often regarded as the best contemporary Dutch drawer and painter.

## Education

Van der Kooi spent his childhood in Bedum. From 1980 to 1983 he studied at the art Academy Minerva in Groningen, where his teachers were Matthijs Röling and Martin Tissing.

## Work

After his studies, he moved to the province of Friesland, where he started to work in the area of Drachten. Van der Kooi paints and draws landscapes, still lifes, portraits, nudes and animals. Van der Kooi particularly focuses on painting sunlight in different places and climates, such as Peru, Nepal and Israel. Every year he visits Italy, where he studies the sunlight and landscapes of Venice and Tuscany.
Since 2007 he gives master classes at the Classical Academy for painters in Groningen, and since 2014 he gives master classes in the Middle East. An Israeli painter invited Van der Kooi to come and give seminars, because there are few classical painters in Israel and Palestine due to the region's relatively short history in classical art.
In 2002 the life and works of Van der Kooi were featured on the national news and a documentary on the Dutch national television; in 2004 the educational children's television series Het Klokhuis had an episode about Van der Kooi’s drawings of tigers. In 2007 his British friend and colleague Michael Reynolds invited Van der Kooi to participate in an exhibition of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters in London and later that year Dame Emma Kirkby and Anthony Rooley performed at the opening of Van der Kooi's exhibition in Museum De Buitenplaats [nl] in Eelde.
In 2009 the four Dutch figurative painters Matthijs Röling, Pieter Pander, Pieter Knorr and Jan van der Kooi were invited by a gallery owner in Antwerp to exhibit their works on a joint exhibition entitled The four greats from the north. In 2012 posters of Van der Kooi’s tiger drawings were displayed at Dutch national railway stations to promote the exhibition in the Dordrechts Museum.
Van der Kooi makes drawings in a book that was also used by Michelangelo and Raphael and which has been in the possession of Christina, Queen of Sweden.

## Exhibitions

* 1985 An art fair in Toronto.
* 2002 Museum De Buitenplaats| in Eelde. At this exhibition the book Jan van der Kooi, painter, drawer was presented.
* 2005 Exhibition at Laurentius in Middelburg. Presentation of the book compiled with animal drawings from sketch books Bestiarium.
* 2007 London: The Royal Society of Portrait Painters, following an invitation by the British friend and colleague Michael Reynolds, and an exhibition in Museum De Buitenplaats| in Eelde.
* 2009 Antwerp: The four greats from the north exhibition of the four northern Dutch painters Matthijs Röling, Pieter Pander, Pieter Knorr and Jan van der Kooi.
* 2012 Leonardo’s student exhibition at Dordrechts Museum, visited by more than 35.000 people. During this exhibition the book Jan van der Kooi, drawer, painter was presented. To promote this exhibition tiger drawings by Van der Kooi were displayed at Dutch national railway stations.
* 2013 A Frisian painter in Italy in Museum Martena in Franeker.
* 2014 Theme exhibition about sunlight in Museum Arti Legi in Gouda. This exhibition was opened by the Dutch comedian Paul van Vliet; Princess Beatrix later visited the exhibition.
* 2017 Double exhibition Meisterzeichner - Weltentdecker ("Master drawer - explorer") in Rheine, Germany.

## Books

* 1995 - Recent works (Recent werk). Jan van der Kooi & Jaap Bruintjes. Publisher Art Media, Amsterdam. ISBN 978-90-75370-01-0
* 2002 - Jan van der Kooi painter, drawer (schilder, tekenaar). Introductory written by Eric Bos & Diederik Kraaijpoel. Publisher Art Revisited, Marum. ISBN 978-90-72736-14-7
* 2005 - Bestiarium. Featuring an introduction written by Theo Laurentius. Publisher Art Revisited, Marum. ISBN 978-90-72736-42-0
* 2007 - Close at hand (Binnen handbereik). Compiled by Peter de Jong & Jan van der Kooi, introduction written by Pauline Broekema. Publisher Art Revisited, Marum. ISBN 978-90-72736-57-4
* 2012 - Jan van der Kooi drawer, painter (tekenaar, schilder). Frits Duparc & Nicolaas Matsier. Publisher Thoth, Bussum. ISBN 978-90-6868-608-1
* 2014 - Sunlight (Zonlicht). In conjunction with the theme exhibition in Arti Legi. ISBN 978-90-821617-3-1

## Sources

* ↑ About the works of Jan van der Kooi. By Frits Duparc, former director of the Mauritshuis, in Jan van der Kooi, drawer painter, ISBN 978-90-6868-608-1
* ↑ Expositie Jan van der Kooi 'Leonardo's Leerling' in Dordrechts Museum (Jan van der Kooi's exhibition in Dordrechts Museum) Dordrecht TV, November 13, 2012
* ↑ Jan van der Kooi Friesch Dagblad, November 2012
* ↑ Jan van der Kooi exposeert in Franeker (Jan van der Kooi exhibits his work in Franeker) Drachtster Courant, June 26, 2013
* 1 2 RKD Profile Netherlands Institute for Art History, retrieved February 24, 2015.
* 1 2 Jan van der Kooi Archived 2015-02-12 at the Wayback Machine Biography on publisher Art Revisited's website, retrieved February 5, 2015
* 1 2 Jan van der Kooi painter, drawer Publisher Art Revisited's website on the book, retrieved February 5, 2015
* ↑ Poster lecture Jan van der Kooi in Israel retrieved February 4, 2015
* 1 2 Jan van der Kooi, veel uit te pluizen en bloot te leggen (Jan van der Kooi, much to discover) Friesch Dagblad December 6, 2014
* ↑ Masterclasses over verwondering (Masterclasses) Friesch Dagblad December 6, 2014
* ↑ Liever schilder dan Waku Waku (Rather a painter than on the board of a television show) Leeuwarder Courant Oktober 26, 2007
* 1 2 Simpelweg licht, kleur en verf (Only light, colour and paint) Dagblad van het Noorden November 9, 2007
* 1 2 Engelsen ontdekken schilder Jan van der Kooi (The English discover painter Jan van der Kooi) Leeuwarder Courant February 5, 2007
* ↑ Dame Emma Kirkby in Museum de Buitenplaats Dagblad van het Noorden November 5, 2007
* 1 2 Noordelijke realisten naar Antwerpen (Northern realistic painters exhibit in Antwerp) Leeuwarder Courant September 9, 2009
* 1 2 Friese kunst in Antwerpen (Frisian art in Antwerp) Friesch Dagblad Oktober 3, 2009
* ↑ "Schetsboek was mogelijk album vol oude meesters" [Sketch book presumably was album with drawings of old masters]. NRC Handelsblad (in Dutch). September 5, 2012.
* ↑ Friese kunst naar Toronto (Frisian art to Toronto) Leeuwarder Courant March 22, 1985
* ↑ Friese tekeningen langer in Dordrecht (Frisian drawings will be in Dordrecht for longer) Archived 2018-02-22 at the Wayback Machine Friesch Dagblad April 24, 2013
* ↑ Jan van der Kooi, Meestertekenaar (Master drawer) Dutch documentary made by Frank Peters on behalf of the Dordrechts Museum
* ↑ Prinses Beatrix bezoekt expositie in Arti Legi (Princess Beatrix visits exhibition in Arti Legi) Archived 2015-02-12 at the Wayback Machine Algemeen Dagblad January 22, 2015
* ↑ Einer der wohl besten lebenden Kuenstler der Niederlande stellt in Rheine aus MV 7 January 2017
* ↑ Van der Kooi Ausstellung gilt als Leuchtturmprojekt MV 30 March 2017
* ↑ “Een vernieuwer ben ik niet, ik wil mooi werk maken” Archived 2017-04-04 at the Wayback Machine Actief 22 March 2017