Frederik Marinus Kruseman

Biography
1816 - 1882

About the artist

Frederik Marinus Kruseman (1816, Haarlem – 1882, Sint Gillis, near Brussels, Belgium) was a cousin to Cornelis Kruseman (painter of historical and biblical subjects), and a cousin to Jan Adam Kruseman (historical painter and portraitist). Fredrik studied under many of the great Dutch landscapists. From 1833 he was apprenticed to Jan Reekers from whom he learnt drawing from nature and the rules of perspective.

Between 1832 and 1833 Kruseman also attended classes at the City Drawing School and he studied painting under Nicholas Roosenboom. Because Andreas Schelfhout was a regular visitor to Roosenboom’s studio, it is likely that Kruseman came into contact with Schelfhout. In 1833, Kruseman made his debut at the Exhibition for Living Masters in The Hague, exhibiting a landscape.

He travelled extensively in Northern Europe before finally settling in Brussels in 1841. Between 1852 and 1856, Kruseman lived once again in the vicinity of Haarlem, but he returned to Brussels in 1856 where he permanently settled. He exhibited in Amsterdam and The Hague between 1833 and 1856.

Winter landscapes make up about two thirds of Kruseman’s oeuvre and around 1860 his talent came to full bloom. His tree groups became increasingly more convincing. The depth of his panoramic landscapes became more marked. Kruseman perfected his rendering of the jet-black mirror surface of the ice, and his best works are set in the fading light of an early evening.

He worked until the late seventies. Paintings by Fredrik Marinus Kruseman are shown in several museums including the Bibliothèque Royale Albert I, Brussels; the Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem; the Commanderie van Sint Jan, Nijmegen; the Stedelijk Musea Kortrijk/Coutrai, Belgium; the Museum der Bildenden Kunste, Leipzig, Germany, and the Hamburger Kunsthalle, Germany.

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