Jan Mankes. 1889-1920

'Holland's most restrained painter' was first used by Richard Roland Holst in 1923 to describe Jan Mankes and succinctly characterises the essence of his work. The work of Mankes, who was born in the North-Netherlandish city of Meppel in 1889, is typified by a love of nature and a remarkable eye for detail. In his brief artistic career - he died of tuberculosis when he was only thirty-one - he accurately captured his feeling for the flora and fauna of his surroundings. The restraint in his work is chiefly expressed through a pure, sober use of colour and the harmony of his compositions. His body of work is modest in size and consists of some two hundred paintings, fifty prints and around one hundred and twenty sketches and drawings.
In the book Jan Mankes a complete survey of his oeuvre is described in words and pictures in two detailed chapters of his life and work, including mention of a still growing appreciation of the latter and much new, hitherto unpublished information.