J.A. (JAN ADAM) ZANDLEVEN


Artists

Biography

J.A. (JAN ADAM) ZANDLEVEN
1868 Koog aan de Zaan - 1923 Rhenen

Jan Adam Zandleven was a self-taught artist. His love for painting was so strong that against his father's will, he became an artist. Nature was his inspiration: landscapes, flowers, forests and trees. His solitary trees, whether in bloom or not, are special. He worked with an accurate touch and a sparkling use of color. By applying the paint thickly, he gave texture, literally, to the bark of the tree or the forest floor. Initially his style was naturalistic, later impressionistic before finally ending in a bold pointillism. He settled in the eastern part of the country. He was most comfortable painting in the woods near his hometowns of Rhenen and Gorssel. He loved the landscape surrounding him and the relative solitude. Before Zandleven could make an independent living from his work, he depended on his patron H.P. Bremmer, who gave him a monthly allowance and brought his work to the attention of collectors. Bremmer's opinion mattered! Zandleven's work can be found at Centraal Museum in Utrecht and Kröller Müller Museum in Otterloo.