Willem Anthonie Oepts
Landschap te St Tropez, Landscape at St Tropez
1940's

About the Item

Mid 20th Century drawing study on paper of a Provencale landscape by the Dutch artist Wim Oepts. Possibly an atelier sketch for the painting Landschap te St Tropez from 1947 (SK103 Monografie en Oeuvrecatalogus). Carrying the atelier stamp bottom right. Showing his love and the influence of the works of Derain and Matisse. Acquired directly from the artist's atelier. Wim Oepts was a Dutch painter, born as the first child in a big art loving family on 2 December 1904 in Amsterdam. At the age of fourteen he started working in a metal construction company. During those years, he spent a lot of his spare time drawing and painting and finally decided to quit his job in 1924 to focus completely on art. This choice resulted in many friendships with other artists like Charley Toorop, Pyke Koch and Kurt Schwitters. They all spent many weekends together at Toorop's house. These friendships made him popular on the art scene, as seen in the many exhibitions organized for his work in the 1920’s. In his early career he painted in a realistic style much inspired by Toorop, with the city as his main subject, depicting places where people would come together, for example stations and cinemas. After a few years he left Amsterdam for Belgium and later he moved to Paris and onto further success. After living and working in the city for a while, Oepts decided in the 1950’s to leave Paris for the summers to go to the South of France with his new wife Marthe Caudal. Here he came under the influence of French painters like Matisse, Derain and Bonnard. After the South of France became too touristy, they spent their summers in the Provencal countryside. He would make sketches and when he was back in Paris he used these for his paintings. The peak of his artistic career was in the 1960’s and 1970’s. He was known for his impressions of the French landscape. His works are held in major collections worldwide.

Creator:

Willem Anthonie Oepts (1904 - 1988, Dutch)

Creation Year:

1940's

Dimensions:

Height: 5.5 in (13.97 cm)Width: 8 in (20.32 cm)

Medium:

Crayon,Paper

Movement & Style:

Realist

Period:

1940-1949