| Antonie Gerardus de Jong Nederlandse_taal
Dutch Painter - 2nd Generation The Hague School, later Dutch Impressionist 1860-1932 Videos to Understand de Jong's paintings Contact Us | de Jong Gallery | Background de Jong Contemporaries |
 | Antonie Gerardus de Jong was born in 1860. The son of a rather well-to-do contractor in The Hague, Netherlands, Antonie demonstrated a definite talent for drawing at an early age. He was admitted to the Royal Academy of Drawing, from which he graduated with honors and a gold medal. After his graduation, de Jong went to work in the studio of Willem Maris, who at that time, was the leader of The Hague School of Painters. Noted artists at The Hague School included Anton Mauve (cousin of Vincent van Gogh through marriage), Joseph Israëls, Theopile de Bock, and others. de Jong was a painter of Dutch landscape. In his early years, he was strongly influenced by his master, Willem Maris, for whom he maintained a great admiration throughout his life. As The Hague increasingly reflected a city-scape, de Jong left to live in the little village of Laren, which continues its reputation as an artist-colony today. In Laren, de Jong painted his beloved countryside and the farmers in their poor, but picturesque surroundings. Although living and working in Laren, de Jong remained a member of the Pulchri Studio in The Hague. His submitted works were always accepted and exhibited in the annual expositions of the Studio. A great change emerged in de Jong when he became acquainted with the work of French impressionists. He stopped exhibiting for several years, until he had found his way to a lighter, more colourful palette. The Hague School, sticking to its old ideals, never forgave him for his embrace of impressionism. The Pulchri Studio refused to accept or exhibit his new works. The shy, highstrung and hyper-sensitive de Jong withdrew from the Dutch art scene. Meanwhile, at the age of 45, de Jong married Lena Adriana Boers and moved to Haarlem. As the years went by, he became more and more of a hypochrondriac and increasingly mistrustful, even to the point where he refused to admit anybody to his studio. He died in 1932 at the age of 72. Two children were born from the marriage. Antonie Gerardus, Jr. lived in Indonesia (Dutch East Indies) and died in a POW camp in Osaka, Japan in 1945. Maria Wilhelmina, lived in Haarlem until 1948, when she moved to San Francisco, California and lived until her death in 1981. Adapted from a statement by Maria Wilhelmina de Jong
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