Johan Bakker artwork • painting • previously for sale A view of the Pastorieweg, Warffum

Johan Bakker, born in Baflo in Groningen, lived most of his life in nearby Warffum, where the vast landscape often formed the theme of his work. After a drawing education at the Academie Minerva in Groningen and under the influence of his friends Jan van der Zee and Ekke Kleima, he developed a style that was characteristic of the Groninger Ploeg, which he also became a member of in 1953. He painted his landscapes with a smooth brushwork and an expressive use of colour. In 1958 he moved to Bennekom in Gelderland, where he lived until his death. Here too he painted in his immediate surroundings, this time forest scenes that almost tend towards the non-figurative.