Floris Arntzeniusartist • painter • watercolourist • draughtsmanSoerabaja (Indonesië, v/h Nederlands-Indië) 1864-1925 Den Haag

Floris Arntzenius (1864-1925), born in Surabaya, moves with his parents to Amsterdam when he was ten. He received his education there at the Rijksacademie, together with Isaac Israels, Willem Witsen and G.H. Breitner and follows another year of lessons at the academy of Antwerp. When his father dies and his mother is homesick for the Indies spheres, The Hague, with a large Indies community, becomes his new place of residence. This is where Arntzenius will live and work for the rest of his life. Although he is mainly known for his 'streets' in The Hague, Arntzenius was a very versatile artist. He painted landscapes – in the style of the Hague School – colorful beach scenes, still lifes, self-portraits and portraits of friends and acquaintances that he met at auctions in Pulchri and in Café Riche.
Arntzenius soon feels at home in The Hague. There he becomes a member of Pulchri Studio and of the Hollandsche Teeken Maatschappij. Together with famous contemporaries such as George Hendrik Breitner and Isaac Israels, Arntzenius embraces the modern life of his time, seeks out the bustle of the city and paints spontaneous impressions of the lively city life in The Hague; strolling ladies, shoppers, carts and trams, butchers and bakers who deliver food and strung horses with carriages, preferably in fog or rainy weather. An art critic describes them aptly in 1903: 'Crowded street scenes, preferably in rainy weather, the full bustle of a market day, a glimpse into a working-class neighborhood that sparkles with multicolored light. He likes turbulent crowds. A nice smooth street or square, neat houses polished by glass cleaners are an abomination to him.' Arntzenius uses sober tones for this, which he alternates with color accents such as cobalt blue, red and green for a more lively image. There is also a regularly recurring, striking motif of the butcher's boy in a white smock, with a basket on his arm. Besides in the city, Arntzenius works along the canal to Scheveningen, where ships transport the sand, and at the Haringkade, where net menders are busy. He can often also be found on the beach of Scheveningen, where a few figures and some bath chairs or carriages provide sufficient upholstery for his paintings. His wife and children often act as models. His beach scenes in a French atmosphere breathe tranquility through the representation of the motifs in large shapes and flat tones. Artnzenius is less interested in fishing life. This had been documented often enough in the past by the Hague Scholers and, moreover, the fish sale no longer took place on the beach, but in the newly constructed harbour.
In 1900 Arntzenius married the painter Lide Doorman, with whom he had four daughters. During her marriage, she always gives priority to her family and her husband's work. Only after his death did she resume painting until her death in 1954. Her subjects were still lifes, especially flowers, and portraits.
At the end of his life, Arntzenius turned his back on the 'turbulent street scenes' and focused on flower still lifes. That may seem like an exhausted subject, but his bouquets of snowberries or the nasturtiums with their special incidence of light are beautifully still. Arntzenius had no desire to travel abroad. The beauty of his own country and immediate surroundings provided him with the necessary inspiration for his work. He maintained a wide circle of friends, including Johannes Akkeringa, Isaac Israels, Willem Maris, Willem Bastiaan Tholen and Willem de Zwart. He never went out of his way to work 'differently' because time demanded it, but always quietly followed his own path in the midst of changing directions.