Wim van Aken - Still life flowers

beautiful watercolor by the Dutch visual artist and painter Willem (Wim) van Aken (Amsterdam, June 2, 1933 – Huizen, January 29, 2015) Van Aken was born in Amsterdam and lived in Batavia in the Dutch East Indies until after the Second World War. As a prisoner in a Japanese camp he used his brother's hair to make brushes. Back in the Netherlands he lived in Halfweg (Haarlemmerliede and Spaarnwoude) and after 1996 in Naarden. In the sixties he made study trips to Italy, Spain, France and Great Britain. Van Aken was influenced by classical Greek antiquity and Roman culture. Van Aken worked a lot with watercolour and sepia and used etching techniques and lithography. Subjects were buildings, landscapes, female nudes and architectural elements. He painted figures in still lifes, cityscapes and interiors. He executed his impressionistic and abstract work in mosaics, portraits and paintings in oil on canvas. He usually signed with 'W. van Aken'. At a young age he was inspired by old masters such as Rembrandt and Leonardo da Vinci. When he was thirteen years old he already made still lifes in the Renaissance style. From 1950 to 1952 he attended the Institute for Applied Arts Education in Amsterdam. After that he attended the Gooise Academy in Hilversum. From 1955 to 1959 he attended the Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague. One of his teachers was Paul Citroen. From 1960 to 1962 he was taught at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. Wim van Aken was a member of the Cultural Council of North Holland in IJmuiden and the Gooise Painters Association and the Association of Visual Artists Laren-Blaricum. Dimensions: 38x45cm and with passepartout 61x70cm The item will be shipped worldwide via PostNL International service. Shipping costs include proof of delivery (registered) plus insurance against loss or damage with a maximum insured value of 500 euros. If the auction item is sold for 50 euros or less, the item will only be shipped with track & trace.