Ludwig Willem Reymert (Willem) Wenckebach (The Hague, January 12, 1860 – Santpoort, June 25, 1937), widely known as Willem Wenckebach, was a Dutch painter, illustrator, book cover designer, and graphic artist. Like many artists of his era, he created both applied and free work. Wenckebach became one of the most prolific and renowned illustrators and graphic designers of his time, particularly for his watercolors in the Verkade albums by Jac. P. Thijsse. He collaborated on these projects with artists like Jan Voerman Jr. and Jan van Oort.
In Amsterdam, Wenckebach is also remembered for his pen drawings of old Amsterdam, created between 1898 and 1907, which were featured in Nieuws van de Dag. These drawings were later compiled into several books. He primarily worked in the style of the Hague School, producing many landscape paintings in locations such as Wolfheze, Drenthe, and the Dutch dunes, often near Schoorl and Texel.
Wenckebach’s most famous works include his pen drawings and watercolors for the Verkade albums, rendered in an impressionistic, colorful style. Notable examples are Het Naardermeer (1912) and Texel (1927), which he illustrated during his travels across the Netherlands with Jac. P. Thijsse and other illustrators. Beyond his landscape paintings and Verkade album illustrations, Wenckebach also produced numerous pen drawings of Old Amsterdam, many of which were published as etchings in De Courant/Nieuws van de Dag starting in 1886. These drawings were later reissued in book form multiple times.
Presented by Artforyou
Artforyou
(Art gallery, Netherlands)
