Co Breman, together with Ferdinand Hart Nibbrig, was one of the first painters in the Netherlands to apply the pointillist technique to capture the atmosphere of the warm, summery light in his paintings.
Born in Zwolle in 1865, after his father died prematurely, Breman was encouraged by his guardians to choose an artistic profession. In his hometown he attended the drawing and painting school of J.H. Huibers, where he got his drawing teacher certificate. In 1889 Breman left for a few years to Brussels where he attended classes at the Academy and also worked in decoration workshops. With Douwe Komter, who, like Breman, would later settle in the Gooi, he then went to Paris for another year, where he mainly focused on decorative painting. In Brussels, an important cultural center at the time, he became acquainted with the modern art movements of the time such as Art Nouveau and Symbolism. But Breman was mainly inspired by Pointillism, a painting technique that emerged in the late 19th century in response to Impressionism. Dots were applied unmixed to the canvas in dots. The different colors that stood next to each other were perceived as a secondary color by the human eye. In this way, a work of art could strongly emphasize the representation of the light and the lighting effects.
In Brussels Breman was very successful with his decoration designs and in Amsterdam he was invited to decorate an exhibition for the Hotel and Travel Industry. Via Amsterdam, where he became a member of the Guild of Saint Luke and Arti et Amicitiae, Breman moved to Het Gooi in 1897, inspired by the stories of his Amsterdam painter friends. In Blaricum, where he settled with a few friends in an old brewery, he would, in addition to commissions for decorative work, mainly focus on the landscape. Breman painted fields bathed in sunlight, winding paths along cornfields and farms. He worked hard, but also sought relaxation. He was fond of parties and parties and together with his friends, including amateur chef Derk Meeles, countless eating and drinking parties were organized. The group could also often be found in Jan Hamdorff's inn, the meeting place of artistic Blaricum, where Breman enthusiastically became co-organizer of parties that took place there.
Breman often exhibited at the exhibitions of the Gooi painters 'association 'De Tien', where he was very successful and he was also chairman of the artists' association Laren-Blaricum for almost 12 years. In addition to the Gooi landscape, Breman was still drawn by the river landscape of the IJssel, his native soil, where he recorded the flood plains near Zwolle and later Deventer, with or without grazing cows, as he grew older and more and more impressively. style. He preferred to let the sun rise in his paintings. Breman rarely painted evening moods.
In 1912 Breman married Lizzy Schouten, a portrait painter. Shortly afterwards they left for Italy for two years. On their return they brought a wealth of paintings, studies and drawings with them. Breman had little trouble selling his work, not only in the Netherlands, but also in Madrid, Berlin, London, San Francisco, Glasgow and even San Francisco. Back from Italy, the couple moved into a house on Torenlaan in Blaricum, where Breman died in 1938. Blaricum then loses a much-loved and colorful figure, always tidy and much loved by his fellow painters.