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Jan Mankesartist • painter • watercolourist • draughtsman • printmakerMeppel 1889-1920 Eerbeek

biography of Jan Mankes

Jan Mankes, who died of tuberculosis at a young age, was a loner in Dutch art. In 1903 he began working as an apprentice in a Delft glazier workshop and followed an evening course at the Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague. There he started painting birds. In 1908 he opted for free artistry. Between 1909 and 1915 he retired to his parents in the Frisian countryside. There he developed his love for nature and created small, finely painted landscapes, paintings with people, animals and flowers. His work is characterized by great austerity and stillness. It is dreamy, vaguely symbolic and, above all, vulnerable.

In 1915 Mankes married Annie Zernike, the first female pastor in the Netherlands in Bovenknijpe near Heerenveen. They had in common a religious background, literary interest and an almost religious experience of nature. They live in The Hague for a while, but then move to the wooded area of Eerbeek, which is said to be good for the tuberculosis Mankes suffers from. However, that did not help much and did not bring healing. When he was not in bed, he worked continuously on his oeuvre, of which he himself said: 'I tried to make beautiful things in all simplicity.' In his dreamlike paintings he managed to move the viewer by using paint and ink to convey the sense of wonder and the search for the soul of his subjects.

About a third of his total oeuvre was made in Eerbeek; soft portraits of his wife, still lifes, paintings of animals, drawings and graphics. Mankes was interested in all animals, although he had a predilection for birds. His paintings, balanced compositions, exude an ethereal, sometimes sparkling and sometimes somewhat sad atmosphere. Jan de Lange, who compiled a book about Mankes' correspondence, says: 'Mankes knew the world: without traveling much, he gained his knowledge by looking. His seeing is seeing with the inner eye. A lot of study is necessary for him, because he often had animals in his vicinity, which he studied until he fully understood their nature.' Manke's style is immediately recognizable by his powerful compositions with many small colour nuances of gray and brown tones and ocher in thin, transparent layers, using little paint and a lot of oil. The technique of glass painting will have served him well.

When Mankes dies, he leaves behind a tranquil and balanced oeuvre of about 150 mainly small paintings, about 100 drawings and about 50 prints.


for salepaintings, watercolours, drawings and prints & multiples by Jan Mankes


Jan Mankes | Vanitas still life, oil on canvas laid down on board, 26.7 x 40.6 cm, signed l.l. with monogram and te dateren 1917

Jan Mankes

painting • for sale

Vanitas still life

Jan Mankes | Four mice, etching, 23.6 x 15.8 cm, signed l.r. and executed 1916

Jan Mankes

prints & multiples • for sale

Four mice

Jan Mankes | Two mice, copper engraving on paper, 10.7 x 13.2 cm, signed l.r. (in pencil) and executed in 1916

Jan Mankes

prints & multiples • for sale

Two mice


previously for salepaintings, watercolours, drawings and prints & multiples by Jan Mankes


Jan Mankes | Portrait of a young girl, oil on canvas, 20.0 x 16.3 cm, signed u.r. and painted ca. 1911

Jan Mankes

painting • previously for sale

Portrait of a young girl

Jan Mankes | Oil bottle, oil on canvas, 25.0 x 17.8 cm, signed l.r. and dated '09

Jan Mankes

painting • previously for sale

Oil bottle

Jan Mankes | A jar with bottle heath, oil on canvas, 40.5 x 36.5 cm, signed l.r. and dated 1911

Jan Mankes

painting • previously for sale

A jar with bottle heath

Jan Mankes | Goat, oil on canvas, 15.0 x 18.8 cm, signed l.r.

Jan Mankes

painting • previously for sale

Goat

Jan Mankes | Peasant woman milking a cow, woodcut on paper, 22.0 x 16.0 cm, signed l.r. (in pencil) and executed in 1914

Jan Mankes

prints & multiples • previously for sale

Peasant woman milking a cow

Jan Mankes | Standing horse, etching on paper, 11.7 x 15.8 cm, signed c.l. with monogram in the plate and executed in 1917

Jan Mankes

prints & multiples • previously for sale

Standing horse

Jan Mankes | Four mice, etching on paper, 19.5 x 14.5 cm, dated 1916

Jan Mankes

prints & multiples • previously for sale

Four mice

Jan Mankes | Milking the cow, woodcut on Japanese paper, 19.2 x 14.2 cm, signed l.r. in full (in pencil) and with monogram i/t blo and executed in 1914

Jan Mankes

prints & multiples • previously for sale

Milking the cow

Jan Mankes | Chair, woodcut on paper, 18.4 x 12.6 cm, signed l.r. in full (in pencil) and with ini  in the bloc and executed in 1914

Jan Mankes

prints & multiples • previously for sale

Chair

Jan Mankes | Milking the cow, woodcut on Japanese paper, 19.2 x 14.2 cm, signed l.r. in full (in pencil) and with monogram i/t blo and executed in 1914

Jan Mankes

prints & multiples • previously for sale

Milking the cow

Jan Mankes | Screaming crow, woodcut on Japanese paper on cardboard, 18.4 x 24.3 cm, signed with monogram in the block and executed in 1918

Jan Mankes

prints & multiples • previously for sale

Screaming crow

Jan Mankes | Screaming crow, woodcut on paper, 18.3 x 23.8 cm, signed with monogram in the block and executed in 1918

Jan Mankes

prints & multiples • previously for sale

Screaming crow

Jan Mankes | Two mice, etching on paper, 6.5 x 10.2 cm, signed l.r. (in pencil) and executed in 1916

Jan Mankes

prints & multiples • previously for sale

Two mice

Jan Mankes | Four mice, etching on paper, 19.5 x 14.5 cm, signed l.r. (in pencil) and executed in 1916

Jan Mankes

prints & multiples • previously for sale

Four mice

Jan Mankes | Chicken, print on paper, 18.9 x 14.6 cm, signed l.r. with monogram in the block

Jan Mankes

prints & multiples • previously for sale

Chicken

Jan Mankes | Milking the cow, woodcut on paper, 19.2 x 14.2 cm, signed l.r. in full (in pencil) and with mon.in the block and executed ca 1914

Jan Mankes

prints & multiples • previously for sale

Milking the cow

Jan Mankes | Screaming crow, woodcut on paper, 18.3 x 23.8 cm, signed l.r. in full (in pencil) and with mon. in the bloc and executed in 1918

Jan Mankes

prints & multiples • previously for sale

Screaming crow

Jan Mankes | A crow, woodcut on coloured paper, 11.8 x 10.2 cm, signed l.r. in full (in pencil) and with mon. in the bloc and executed in 1918

Jan Mankes

prints & multiples • previously for sale

A crow

Jan Mankes | Woman milking a cow, woodcut on paper, 19.1 x 14.2 cm, signed l.r. in full (in pencil) and w. mon. in the block and executed in 1914

Jan Mankes

prints & multiples • previously for sale

Woman milking a cow

Jan Mankes | Four mice, etching on paper, 19.5 x 14.5 cm, signed l.r. (in pencil) and executed in 1916

Jan Mankes

prints & multiples • previously for sale

Four mice

Jan Mankes | Standing horse, copper engraving on paper, 14.0 x 17.5 cm, signed l.r. in full (in pencil) and with mon. n the plate and executed in 1917

Jan Mankes

prints & multiples • previously for sale

Standing horse

Jan Mankes | A crow watching a mosquito, woodcut on coloured paper, 11.7 x 10.1 cm, signed l.r. in full (in pencil) and w. mon. in the block and executed in 1918

Jan Mankes

prints & multiples • previously for sale

A crow watching a mosquito

Jan Mankes | Milking a cow, woodcut on paper, 19.2 x 14.2 cm, signed with mon in the block and l.r. in full (in pencil) and executed in 1914

Jan Mankes

prints & multiples • previously for sale

Milking a cow

Jan Mankes | Two mice, etching on paper, 6.8 x 10.2 cm, signed l.r. (with pencil) and executed in 1916

Jan Mankes

prints & multiples • previously for sale

Two mice

Jan Mankes | Two mice, etching on paper, 6.8 x 10.2 cm, signed l.r. (with pencil) and to be dated 1916

Jan Mankes

prints & multiples • previously for sale

Two mice

Jan Mankes | A crow watching a mosquito, woodcut on Japanese paper, 11.8 x 10.2 cm, signed w mon in the block and l.r. in full (in pencil and executed in 1918

Jan Mankes

prints & multiples • previously for sale

A crow watching a mosquito

Jan Mankes | A crow watching a mosquito, woodcut on coloured paper, 11.8 x 10.2 cm, signed w mon in the block and l.r. in full (in pencil) and to be dated 1918

Jan Mankes

prints & multiples • previously for sale

A crow watching a mosquito

Jan Mankes | Milking a cow, woodcut on Chinese paper, 19.2 x 14.5 cm, signed with mon. in the bloc and l.r. in full (in pencil) and executed in 1914

Jan Mankes

prints & multiples • previously for sale

Milking a cow

Jan Mankes | Two mice, etching on paper, 6.8 x 10.2 cm, signed l.r. (in pencil) and executed in 1916

Jan Mankes

prints & multiples • previously for sale

Two mice

Jan Mankes | A screaming crow, woodcut on Japanese paper, 18.3 x 23.8 cm, signed with mon. in the block and l.r. in full (in pencil and executed 1918

Jan Mankes

prints & multiples • previously for sale

A screaming crow

Jan Mankes | A crow, watching a mosquito, woodcut on coloured Japanese paper, 11.8 x 10.2 cm, signed w mon in the block and l.r. in full (in pencil and executed in 1918

Jan Mankes

prints & multiples • previously for sale

A crow, watching a mosquito

Jan Mankes | A crow, watching a mosquito, woodcut on coloured Japanese paper, 11.8 x 10.2 cm, signed with mon.in the block and l.r. in full (in pencil) and executed in 1918

Jan Mankes

prints & multiples • previously for sale

A crow, watching a mosquito

Jan Mankes | Two white mice, copper engraving on paper, 6.9 x 10.0 cm, signed l.r. (in pencil) and dated 1916

Jan Mankes

prints & multiples • previously for sale

Two white mice

Jan Mankes | Standing horse, copper engraving on paper, 11.8 x 15.8 cm, signed l.r. in full and c.l. with monogram in the plate and executed in 1917

Jan Mankes

prints & multiples • previously for sale

Standing horse

Jan Mankes | A horse, etching on paper, 11.8 x 15.8 cm, signed l.r. in pencil and m.l. with monogram in the plate and painted in 1917

Jan Mankes

prints & multiples • previously for sale

A horse

Jan Mankes | A rooster, etching on paper, 26.0 x 21.0 cm, signed l.r. and painted circa 1917

Jan Mankes

prints & multiples • previously for sale

A rooster

Jan Mankes | A study of a male nude, pencil on paper, 24.9 x 18.5 cm

Jan Mankes

watercolour • drawing • previously for sale

A study of a male nude

Jan Mankes | A study of a male nude, pencil on paper, 26.4 x 17.0 cm

Jan Mankes

watercolour • drawing • previously for sale

A study of a male nude


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