Jacob Mooij, Dutch printmaker in Harderwijk

Jacob Mooij

(1889-1938)

Dutch woodblock printmaker, publisher and

 printing press owner.

I first stumbled over this forgotten and hardly known Dutch printmaker when I saw (but missed) this large print of a Utrecht alley in a local auction site. Only recently I found another one, a picturesque scene in one of the oldest (esth. 1648 and today former) University cities of the Netherlands, the fishing port of Harderwijk. Before the Zuiderzee was closed by the Afsluitdijk in 1933.  In the 18th century Harderwijk was also nicknamed the Athens of Gelderland (province). Carl Lineaus, the Danish botanist studied here in 1735. It is also located on the edge of the Dutch Bible belt.

Usually the old Lighthouse and gate in one of the remaining towers and gate to the walled medieval city, is the subject of numerous works of art: it’s as iconic as the Martini tower in Groningen and the Waterpoort in Sneek. Right: the old Lighthouse by Cees Bolding (1897-1979) one of the finest Dutch painters and printmakers. 

Jacob Mooij was born as the son of the evangelist Arend Mooij who stayed and preached in several Dutch and Belgian cities, married a girl from province Zeeland and  did what the Bible ordered him to do: create a large family. Jacob started a publishing and printing  business in Harderwijk with his brother Herman Willem (1872-1932) while another brother, Maarten, also preached the gospel like his father and uncles before him.

Paradijspoortje ("Gate to paradise") in Harderwijk: wood/linoblock by Jacob Mooij, etching by Herman J. Ansingh (1880-1957) and woodblock by Arie van der Boon (1886-1961)

and an oil painting by David Schulman (1881-1966)

In Harderwijk he will have met Henri Wils (1892-1967) the  interned Belgian printmaker who’d fled, with tens of thousands of compatriots, the siege of Antwerp in 1914. From Wils, who was a student of Eduard Pellens (1872-1947) in Antwerp (Emile Verpilleux (1888-1964) also was) Jacob Mooij learned the art of woodblock printing. Jacob married Geertje Visser in 1915 and both men later (around 1922) moved to Rotterdam were Jacob started a printing press and Wils a career as a printmaker and books illustrator.

Harderwijk Old Lighthouse and Vispoort (Fish-gate): by Henri Wils, postcard, Herman (H.J.) Ansingh, Wijnand Otto Jan Nieuwenkamp (1884-1950) and Louis Haver (1906-1969)

  

The influence of Pellens (who had been a student of August Lepère (1849-1918) in Paris and one of the founding fathers of Modern printmaking) is unmistakenly evident in all Wils’ prints. Wils never excelled, never changed from the stiff city views and sticked to his style using just two or three blocks and creating recognizable, framable and affordable wall decorations. For a generation of Dutch city bourgois. 

Antwerpen by Henri Wils and his teacher professor Eduard Pellens.

Wils was a bread and butter printmaker and he had his prints printed mechanically at the printing press of his (former) employers, the publisher and printing press of Kok in nearby Kampen. Wils when living in Harderwijk will have without a doubt had knowledge of the printing and publishing activities of the Mooij brothers. Henri Wils and his legacy in print will feature in an upcoming posting (ending the Antwerp School of Printmaking postings)    

The influence of Wils is evident in Mooij who, I believe, eventually proved to be far more creative and artistic then his master using more color blocks and guiding a much freer hand cutting the linoleum. And of course he decided to pull his prints by hand. Hopefully more prints by Mooij will surface in future.

All pictures borrowed freely from the Internet for friendly, educational and non commercial use only.
All pictures are mouse-clickable to embiggen.

Around Antwerpen School of Print Making (III)

Lepère at work

Auguste Louis Lepère

1949-1918

French wood engraver, etcher and

First Modern Printmaker

Both my main subjects and starting point of these series of postings, printmakers Emile Verpilleux and Henri Wils were taught in Antwerp at atelier Pellens. Wils at least "claimed" he had been inspired by Auguste Lepère. Verpilleux, although I could not find a quote, has Lepère written all over his wonderful prints. 

Lepère and his friend and colleague Felix Noël (1839-1907) at work.

à la Rembrandt

So I’ve taken the burden upon me to pay attention to the great Auguste Lepère. Without consulting textbooks, dissertations (there are), collection catalogues (there are) nor any scholarly (I haven't on this subject) background. As Charles (of Modern Printmakers Blog) put it very to the point: "all information gathered from the Internet is at best superficial". And he is totally right of course. Nevertheless, warned but undaunted I’ll continue this personal account of my internet investigation. Facts and pictures. No harm in there. 

atmosphere (and rain)  engraved  by Smeeton & Tilly

In Paris between 1840-1880 flourished the reproductive studio of Joseph Burn-Smeeton and Auguste Tilly. In spite of his name there’s not much known about Smeeton. Dates (undoubtedly taken from accountable sources) are only given for his working (productive) period: 1840-1880. The composite family name Burn-Smeeton was created with the marriage of George Smeeton and Mary Burn.  In 1774 in St. Martin in the Fields (Br.) probably Joseph’s grandparents. 

The studio in Paris must have been a success because they even engraved the world famous Waterpoort, build around 1500 in my hometown. In Friesland. Nothing much has changed on that location in 400 years. (all pictures are mouse click-able) 

Porte de Nantes, Nantes Harbour 1906

In 1862 Auguste Louis Lepère was accepted as an apprentice just 13 years of age after being taught (probably the basics of engraving) by his father, the Paris sculptor Francois Lepère. Auguste was to become one of the greatest French artist of the 19^th century and world famous already during his life, because of his remarkable wood engraving skills and technique but particularly for the atmosphere he was able to create in his engravings, etchings and later for his pioneering and inspiring modern printmaking.

Marché aux pommes, Paris. etching (notice: against and into the light) 

But here, at atelier Smeeton, he received his basic training as a wood engraver.  In studios like this all over Europe paintings of “real”, creating artists, were copied in wood- and copper engravings, and designs for books executed.

Watercolor by Lepère: "Son et lumière au place des Vosges,
 Victor Hugo Centenaire. 

In 1889 Lepère, following the advice of his friend, the painter and etcher Felix Bracquemond (1833-1914), took up etching and his career as a free creating artist took of. Experimenting with color blocks in woodblock printing, combining wood engraving with woodcutting and blockprinting. 
It’s always these same few but great color prints turning up (on the www) but how fascinating they are. I wonder if he did any more.

Bassin-des-tuileries-1898

Palais de Justice

Dimanche, bords de Paris

Le dimanche aux fortifs 1898

Lepère almost always places people, action, in the front of his compositions. In new, difficult and daring perspectives. Always with great care for detail and composition. Always active. Often against the light, as any photographer knows, encreasing drama and atmospheric effect. The merry go round (what brave positioning and sectioning) might even have been an inspiration to American printmaker Frances Gearhart (1869-1958) * Lepère was also very famous in America. 

There’s always a lot to see and discover in Lepère's prints. With all his skills and experimenting he was able to create atmosphere and temperature, in his etchings, engravings and in his pioneering color printmaking. Impressionist printmaking. 

London, Houses of parliament by Auguste Lepère
a  British Newspaper supplement anno 1889

around 1900: Notice the slight difference  in view point with Lepère.
The photographer stood on a balcony or used a ladder while Lepère appeares to have been seated.

Pigeon eye  view of Parliament Square.

The staging of a silhouetted (back-lit) but amazingly detailed and always busy crowd in the foreground was probably Lepère's invention and it was eagerly borrowed by Emile Verpilleux. Greatly increasing drama and scale very effectively. There's a story told in the lower 3 cm. Hurrying, sheltering, weeping, travelling, commutering, praying, visiting, sunday afternoon strolling people. The other 95% is an impressive stage setting. These prints both Lepère's and Verpilleux' are not decorational. Every print is like a play. 

All examples:  Verpilleux'  bottom 3 (!) cm of his prints. 

This, the low viewpoint (the eye level of the seated sketcher?) and the delicate building up of a just few faint layers of shade or colour in most of Lepère’s work also can be found in Verpilleux's. The choice of the subject (great rivers, great city views with ornamental buildings, cathedrals, bridges, squares and market places) and the time of day greatly attributing to create not an effect but a perception of greatness and atmosphere. Transferred onto a piece of paper. 
If Lepère was the God of Modern Printmakers, Verpilleux must have been his son. 


Next: Emile Verpilleux, a wonderful perception of greatness and atmosphere.


See also: http://www.clivechristy.com/2010/06/auguste-lepere-1849-1918.html

* Frances Gearhart's Merry go round borrowed from Lily's Japonism

Around Antwerpen School of Print Making (II)

Edward Pellens

(1872-1947)

Belgian wood engraver, printmaker, illustrator, stamp designer, ex libris and bookcover designer.

Teacher and professor at he Royal Academy of Antwerp 

In Antwerp Edward Pellens ran a xylographic studio (atelier) in the Royal Academy voor Schone Kunsten and in 1906 was appointed head of this Instition after the decease of his predecessor (aged 86 !), wood engraver Edward Vermorcken (1820-1906). He was to remain in function for over 25 years until 1933. Antwerpen Royal Academy was founded in 1664. After Rome, Paris and Florence the oldest Academy in the Old World. In 1886 it was extended with the National Hoger Instituut voor Schone Kunsten, a postdoc where promising students stayed for a number of years sometimes even (the most talented) with a scholarship (stipendium) from the Belgian State.

E.Pellens,  woodcut
SS Mercator in Antwerp harbour.

Many, most if not all serious XXth century wood engraving and cutting printmakers and graphic illustrators (outside Brittain) of name were trained in the Atelier Pellens.  Pellens becoming the father of XXth century wood-using printmakers. Most probably Pellens had been a student of Vermorcken thus continuing a long line of classical and traditional training and artistic influences.

Edouard Vermorcken: wood engraving, St. Johns Cathedral, den Bosch 

Pellens was the pivotal figure in the changing of traditional wood engraving (illustrational art) into modern print making in Belgium. His influence probably stretching from Paris to Amsterdam. In Paris at the time worked August Lepère (1849-1918), (*see below) , the starting point and Godfather of all Modern Printmakers, world famous even during his life and way ahead of his time. Pellens, after his appointment, spreading the Modern Printmaking gospel into the Low-Lands and England.

E. Pellens, postage stamp: wood engravings

Most of the later important printmakers of the XXth century  were technically trained in his studio. Frans Masereel, Henri van Straten, Joris van der Minne, Josef Cantré, John Buckland-Wright and many, many others. 

Among them also: Emil Verpilleux and Henri Wils. These two printmakers were the starting point of this (web) investigation. The most brilliant of Modern Printmakers and in 1913 already very much Halelujahed for his atmospheric color woodblock prints Emil Verpilleux (1888-1964) and the least known of them: modest Henri Wils (1892-1967). They could (will) have met, been in the same class room with Master Pellens.

Both will have their own posting following. Verpilleux, going his own unique colorful way as early as 1910 and Wils stepping stylish in the footsteps of his teacher E. Pellens never to create anything else but decorational, sellable topographic prints of Dutch cities. But also bare in mind the circumstances: he fled WW1, managed as an artist through the Big Depression and met and lived through yet another war.

I’m convinced Frank Brangwyn (1867-1956) and Yoshihiro Urushibara (1889-1953) did make their acquaintance with Pellens, as did a mysterious, not mentioned by name certain "Canadian printmaker". Maybe Emil Orlik (1860-1911) payed a visit when in Belgium. But I couldn’t find any written account or proof. Urushibara arrived in London in 1910 and made several trips to the mainland. In his Bruges prints there are elements of surprise and similarities.

It is very annoying, although mentioned in biographies of dozens of modern printmakers there’s hardly any work by Edward  Pellens to be found on the www. A series of postcards for the Red Star Line (Antwerp-New York) giving some idea of his skills. But I had to dig deep finding them. 

As a classical wood engraver Pellens will have undoubtedly passed on his knowledge and will have trained basic and classic engraving and more modern cutting,  and combining, techniques onto all of his students. 

The opening picture of "SS Mercator", however proving he was quite capable of creating an “atmospheric” and Modern Print too. Using minimal color and just three blocks. What a difference with the other print in the classic engraving technique also showing “SS Mercator” in Antwerp harbour. These prints dating after 1932, because she was build and launched (in England) that year. It's hard to believe they are made by the same artist.

Besides the woodcuts for the postcard series (of which I have never seen a bigger or original print) Pellens designed chocolate posters (were have I seen these color combinations used in the background ?), ex-libris, postage stamps, and sheet music covers (above).  

 Edward Pellens: Antwerp and the Schelde river

Auguste Lepère: Paris and the Seine river

His view of Antwerpen maybe based on a great, heroic, chilling and atmospheric 1890 print by August Lepère, “Paris sous la neige, vue du haut du Saint Gervais” (Paris, in snow as seen from the hights of the church Saint Gervais on the banks of the Seine). 

It is in the more topographical style of Pellens and choosing also a monochrome approach using just 3 or 4 blocks, Antwerp born Henri Wils continued. 

Henri Wils, Zuidblaak, Rotterdam

Seaking refuge, with 100.000's of others in 1914 when Antwerp was overrun by German troups, being interned in the neutral Netherlands, married and making a living from his printmaking skills, taught by Pellens, and his enterprise in Rotterdam. 

In this context under preparation and to follow soon:

Auguste Lepère, Godfather of Modern Printmakers.

Emile Verpilleux, King of Modern Printmakers, a student at Studio Pellens.

Henri Wils, just another printmaker from Studio Pellens.