Preliminary study for wall paintings

About this artwork.

Johan Dijkstra (1896 - 1978) was a painter and is regarded as one of the most important Groningen artists of the twentieth century. He was educated at the Academy Minerva as a student of, among others, F.H. Bach. In 1918 Dijkstra founded the Groningen art society De Ploeg with Jan Altink, Jan Wiegers and George Martens.

In addition to being a member of De Ploeg, Dijkstra was also a member of “De Onvangenen” and “Arti et Amicitiae”. He received the Willink van Collen Prize in 1925. From 1930 Dijkstra threw himself into the monumental arts.

In 1932 plans were made by the municipality to have a wall decoration made in a public building, but until 1935 it had still not been decided for which building. Painter and former director of the Minerva Academy Dirk de Vries Lam, had proposed to request three painters to make a design and to choose one person to carry out the work. In 1935 the matter is finally settled. The municipal council requested Johan Dijkstra – member of De Ploeg – to apply a wall painting in the new wedding hall of the City Hall. Dijkstra, whose interest in monumental art is well known, is the second member of De Ploeg to process such an assignment. Previously, Jan Wiegers had painted a series of monumental wall paintings in the Mutua Fides society on the Grote Markt. The Preliminary study for wall paintings by Johan Dijkstra eventually led to the three wall paintings in the wedding room of the City Hall in 1938.

At the unveiling of the memorial windows in the Academy Building of Groningen in 1951, Dijkstra was appointed Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau and in 1957 he received the Cultural Prize of the Province of Groningen. The Johan Dijkstrastraat named after him can be found in Ten Boer.

Facts & Figures.

• Artist(s)
  Johan Dijkstra

• Year of creation
  1935

• Dimensions (in cm)
  74x212

• Collection
  Town Hall Collection