Johannes Hermanus Koekkoek

Johannes Hermanus Koekkoek
Artist unknown, c. 1810
Born	(1778-08-17)17 August 1778 Veere
Died	9 January 1851(1851-01-09) (aged 72) Amsterdam
Nationality	Dutch
Known for	Marine artist

Johannes Hermanus Koekkoek (17 August 1778 – 9 January 1851) was a Dutch painter and draughtsman.

He was the founding father of what would become the famous Koekkoek Painting Family [nl]. He and his wife, Anna née Koolwijk, had four sons who all became painters: Barend Cornelis, Marinus Adrianus, Johannes [de], and Hermanus. Most of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren would also follow careers in art.^[1]

Around 1800, he left his home and moved to Middelburg. There, he found work at a carpet and wallpaper factory owned by Thomas Gaal, a decorative painter, who gave him his first lessons. He also took classes at the Middelburg Drawing Academy, where he studied with plaster models and learned engraving. In 1803, he was honored with the title, "Primus van de Academie".^[1]

Following his education, he worked as an art teacher, but soon decided to become a free-lance artist. In 1826, he moved to Durgerdam, near Amsterdam, where he would live and work until 1833. He initially combined seascapes and cityscapes but, in his later years, focused entirely on ocean scenes. Much of his inspiration came from the painters of the Dutch Golden Age. His style was essentially Realistic, but also showed elements of the newer Romantic aesthetic. Rather than merely paint ships, he also learned as much as he could about the different types.

In 1833, he moved into Amsterdam, but also worked in Medemblik and Katwijk aan Zee. He died in Amsterdam, aged seventy-two. His works may be seen at the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, the Dordrechts Museum, and the Museum Jan Cunen [nl] in Oss. Many of his paintings were sold to collectors in Germany and England.

• 
  The Battle of Copenhagen (1813)
• 
  Ships in a Squall (1831)
• 
  Unloading the Catch
• 
  Ships in Stormy Seas (1821)
• 
  On the Beach (1823)

• Bryan, Michael (1886). Graves, Robert Edmund (ed.). Bryan's Dictionary of Painters and Engravers. Vol. 1st Vol. London: George Bell and Sons.
• Benno Tempel, Ronald de Leeuw: Het Romantiek Boek. Waanders Uitgevers, Zwolle, 2006. ISBN 90-400-8942-6
• Ronald de Leeuw, et al., Meesters van de Romantiek. Nederlandse kunstenaars 1800-1850. Rotterdam/Zwolle 2005, ISBN 90-400-9095-5
• "Koekkoek, 1. Johan Herman",. In: Theodor Westrin (Ed.): Nordisk familjebok, Vol.14: Kikarsikte–Kroman. Nordisk familjeboks förlag, Stockholm 1911, @ Projekt Runeberg
• Brief biography @ Het Schildersgeslacht Koekkoek

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Johannes Hermanus Koekkoek.

• More works by Koekkoek @ ArtNet
• J. H. Koekkoek @ Artcyclopedia