Johan Coenraad Braakensiek (24 May 1858, Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

 - 27 February 1940, Amsterdam) was a Dutch

Dutch people

The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...

 painter

Painting

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

, illustrator

Illustrator

An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...

 and political cartoonist. He is the grandfather of Jan van Oort

Jan van Oort

Jan van Oort was a Dutch children's book writer and comic strip cartoonist, working under the pseudonym of Jean Dulieu. He is known for his creation of Paulus the woodgnome....

.

Personal life

Braakensiek was the son of Albert Braakensiek, an illustrator and lithographer, and Wilhelmina Charlotta Elizabeth Anna Moolenizjer. He was married on the 23rd of September, 1888 to Pietertje Kooijman. They had 3 daughters.

Early life

Braakensiek left school at age 11 and took a job in a fashion shop as a designer/embroider. He attended art classes by JB Tetar at the same time, at which his personal drawings were noticed by art critic

Art critic

An art critic is a person who specializes in evaluating art. Their written critiques, or reviews, are published in newspapers, magazines, books and on web sites...

 Martin Klaff who recommended he take the entrance exam to the State Academy of Fine Arts, in Amsterdam from which he eventually graduated in 1881.

Work

For most of his career, Braakensiek worked for a number of publishers as an illustrator. However, he also found work as a political cartoonist for the magazines Geïllustreerd Politie-Nieuws, De Amsterdammer and De Groene Amsterdammer. His first work was with Geïllustreerd Politie-Nieuws where he contributed infrequently. His break and rise in popularity came in 1886 when he was made the political cartoonist for De Amsterdammer magazine. He also was affiliated with De Groene Amsterdammer magazine from 1925 to 1931.

Popularity

Braakensiek remains popular thanks to the books he worked on as illustrator. Books such as Van Allerlei Slag and Uit het leven van Dik Trom, which feature his art are widely known and read. His work is also featured in a number of text books in The Netherlands.

External links

• Braakensiek Biography
• Google Translation