Gerrit Willem Dijsselhof - Parrots

Gerrit Willem Dijsselhof (1866-1924)

Study of parrots

Monogrammed lower left

Charcoal on paper

34 x 28 cm

Provenance:

Private collection, Amsterdam.

Condition:

In good condition.

Additional information:

Gerrit Willem Dijsselhof was trained at the Royal Academy in The Hague and the Rijksschool voor Kunstnijverheid in Amsterdam. In Amsterdam he became friends with artists including Isaac Israëls and Jan Veth and developed into a versatile artist, with a particular interest in the relationship between fine art and the decorative arts. The influence of the Arts and Crafts movement of William Morris and Walter Crane can be seen in his designs for book bindings, furniture, textiles and glass.

An important source of inspiration was the animal life at Artis. Dijsselhof was a member of the Natura Artis Magistra society and regularly visited the zoo. The aquariums, opened in 1882, made a particularly strong impression on him. He studied fish and aquatic plants there, but also drew other animals he observed at Artis. This drawing of parrots shows how precisely and at the same time freely he recorded his subjects. With a few assured lines, he suggests the different poses and characteristic forms of the birds.

From 1897 onwards Dijsselhof designed furniture for the Amsterdam firm E.J. van Wisselingh & Co. He married the textile artist Willy Keuchenius and remained active throughout his career at the intersection of fine art and the decorative arts. He died in Overveen.