Willem Haenraets – Dutch Impressionist Painter

February 8, 2024 at 11:49 pm Leave a comment

Willem Haenraets

Wilhelmus Hendrik Haenraets

Date of Birth: October 9, 1940 (aged 84)

Place of Birth: Heerlen, the Netherlands

Nationality: Dutch

Occupation: Painter

Influenced by: Haenraets’ artistic creations are a testament to the great tradition of the Belgian-Dutch school and exhibit the influence of old masters.

Movements: 20-21 th century Art, contemporary Impressionist movement.

Styles: His style can be described as a blend of Impressionism and Realism. In his paintings, he mainly uses figurativeness, and abstract elements, which are always retained, even if the canvas is figurative. His distinct style is characterized by his attention to detail, vibrant colour palette, and use of light and shadow. With soft colours and loose brushwork, the artist conjures up a romantic world of beautiful illusion on his canvas. The atmosphere is created by the play of light and colour, levels and lines.

Genres: Haenraets primarily worked in the genres of landscape painting, still life, and portraiture.

Subjects: His subjects often include landscapes, cityscapes, still life, floral compositions, urban scenes and figures.

Haenraets often depicted serene and picturesque scenes, including landscapes, still lifes, and intimate interiors.

Mediums: Haenraets works primarily with oil paints, but he also incorporates other mediums such as watercolour and pastels into his artworks.

Unique distinction: Haenraets’ unique distinction lies in his ability to conjure up a romantic and illusionary world on his canvasses, and create a serene and dreamy atmosphere. He was known for his ability to create a sense of tranquillity and serenity in his paintings and to capture the play of light and colour in his paintings.

Achievements and the main contribution to Art:
His main contribution to art lies in his ability to capture the essence of the Impressionist style while infusing his own unique interpretation, filling everyday scenes in his paintings with a sense of tranquillity and beauty
Throughout his career, Haenraets has received recognition and acclaim for his artistic contributions. His paintings have been exhibited in prestigious galleries, art markets, cultural institutions, and museums around the world.
He exhibited and sold his works in the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Japan, the United States, and Spain, ultimately gaining international recognition.
Family and Education background: Willem Haenraets was born on February 9, 1940, in Heerlen, which is a town in the south of the Netherlands.
When he was 16 years old, he started his education at the City Academy of Arts in Maastricht. Four years later he obtained a scholarship from the Belgian Government to study at the National Institute for Fine Arts in Antwerp, in the Master class of Professor Sarina ( Atelier Opsomer) and Professor Vaarten.

Professional work experience:
During his time at the Belgian National Institute for Fine Arts in Antwerp, where he also opened his very first studio and got his first model.
During that time, the artist began exhibiting and selling his works. In Antwerp he created many portraits, receiving a large number of commissions thanks to a port owner he knew.
After completing his studies, he travelled to Paris. He painted portraits from morning to night on the Place de la Tertre and was able to buy his first house in Bergen, North Holland, where he lived with his wife Hannah. During this period, he created many paintings that were sold in galleries and art markets.
By the mid-1980s, Willem began producing prints of his paintings and gained recognition internationally, receiving invitations to art fairs and exhibitions in the United States, England, and Germany. His original paintings were showcased on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, leading to further exhibitions worldwide, including in Nagoya, Japan. In the 1990s, the artist started exhibiting his works in a gallery on Stokstraat in Maastricht.
Currently, the artist works with publishers, who distribute his work all over the world, in the form of litho and giclee-prints.
His exhibitions have been held in Maastricht, Amsterdam, Bruges, Frankfurt, Milan, Paris, London, New York, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Nagoya and Hondon de las Nieves.

Personal life:
After working in Paris, аrtist lived in their own house in Bergen, Hollandthere with his first wife Hannah and little daughter Hester.
His life was quite harsh on him at some stage, when his first wife died in a car accident, leaving Willem behind with their 6 weeks old daughter.
Haenraets decided to return to Heerlen, where the artist settled in Kasteel Terworm and delved into his work.
In the late 1970s, he met his second wife, Thea, and her daughter Susan, and they later had a son named Bram.
In 2003 artist and his family bought a house in Spain, Hondon de las Nieves. He currently lives with his wife Thea and family in Spain, in the vicinity of Alicante.