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(1860-1931)
Willem Bastiaan Tholen was born in Amsterdam on February 13, 1860. He was the pupil of August Allebé (1838-1927) at the Rijksacademie in Amsterdam. As a young painter, he befriended many of the artists of The Hague School; particularly the artist Paul Gabriel (1828 - 1903). Gabriel provided Tholen with lessons between 1879 and 1881 in Brussels. The two became regular partners in the field, and one can see the great influence Gabriel had on Tholen’s work. Among the many exhibitions he participated in the Netherlands, Tholen also exhibited several times in Parisian Exhibitions and received a bronze medal in 1889 at the l’Exposition Universelle in Paris. He also received medals in Nice (1884), London (1888), Munich (1891 and 1892), and Amsterdam (1903 and 1907).
Tholen loved the outdoors, especially along the waterways in the small fishing area of Giethorn which was situated in the Zuiderzee. He would navigate along the streams and channels of the inlet in his boat, painting along the way. Because of his love for nature and water, he became a master of reflective atmosphere.
During Tholen’s lifetime, the art dealer Peacock became vastly interested in his artwork. Peacock began buying his works and importing them to the English public. Tholen’s pictures became a high demand among the English. Willem Bastiaan Tholen died December 5, 1931 in La Haye, Netherlands.
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