Anthon van Rappard (Zeist, 1858 – Santpoort, 1892) was a Dutch painter, draughtsman and socially engaged artist who, despite his short life, occupies a striking and significant place in 19th-century art history. He is best known for his friendship and correspondence with Vincent van Gogh, who regarded him as a kindred spirit and moral sounding board. Van Rappard was a keen observer of the lives of workers, farmers and weavers, and his work testifies to a sincere concern for social inequality.
He was educated at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam and also studied in Brussels, where he took lessons from Lawrence Alma-Tadema, among others. Nevertheless, he developed a very personal style, averse to academic fine painting. In sober tones and with powerful lines, Van Rappard captured the hard existence of ordinary people – often in drawings, but also in paintings and watercolours. He worked in Drenthe, Brabant, Twente and Belgium, among other places, where he observed popular life up close.
Van Rappard was averse to commercialism and compromise, which did not make his artistic career any easier. Nevertheless, during his lifetime he received recognition among fellow artists for his integrity and sharp eye. His drawings and studies of factory workers, peat workers and weavers are among the most moving social art of his time.
His early death at the age of 33 put an end to an artistry that was in full development. Nevertheless, his work lives on as an authentic, committed and visually powerful document of the social reality at the end of the 19th century. Anthon van Rappard also remains of historical importance as the man who helped shape, encouraged and – importantly – contradicted Van Gogh.
