Westerhaven

About this artwork.

Marten Klompien (1917 - 1996) was a painter, draftsman and graphic artist. Klompien said in an interview that he was able to capture the old Westerhaven just in time before the modern appearance would take its place. He had a preference for the Groningen landscape and an aversion to the fast-paced modern life.

In 1934 Klompien took lessons at the Minerva Academy in Groningen. He mainly focused on shipping and landscape subjects. He started out as a naturalist, but gradually evolved towards expressionism, often working in a sober palette of strong, earthy colors and sober shapes. Klompien did not have a large studio, he worked in the attic and was therefore never able to make large paintings.

In 1955 he was invited to participate in an exhibition of the art society De Ploeg, after which he was welcomed as the youngest member. According to him, his older colleagues had a somewhat rigid conception of art. As a critical response to the lack of innovation at the time of De Ploeg, he therefore became a member of the Groningen artists' group Nu in 1960.

The Groningen poet Hendrik de Vries wrote about Klompien: "This dark, heavy work is in any case primal Groningen. Especially in the sense of: independence, unsentimental sentiment, stubborn self-will."

He painted the Westerhaven in 1959. He wanted to capture the Westerhaven before it would be filled in in 1962. Klompien liked to paint ships; Unsurprisingly, his father was an inland skipper and Klompien spent the first years of his life on his parents' ship.

Facts & Figures.

• Artist(s)
  Marten Klompien

• Year of creation
  1959

• Dimensions (in cm)
  67x76

• Collection
  Town Hall Collection

• Technic
  Gouache