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Coloma Swaan
Coloma Francesca Hubertina Swaan (Weelde, 21 juni 1916 - Edegem, 12 december 2007) was a Belgian naturalist painter of landscapes and still lifes.

Life
Coloma Swaan was born in the village of Weelde in the Campine region, near the Dutch border, as the daughter of botanist Laurent J.H.L. Swaan (1984-1973) and Johanna de Bie (1889-1982). Her father owned the "Tree Nursery  The Campine" and was the superintendant for Baron de Jamblinne de Meux. Her mother was a daughter of a tree nursery family from Zundert. In total, the couple had six children (Johanna Swaan, Pelagia Swaan, Coloma Swaan, Josephine Swaan, Edmond Swaan and Jozef Swaan).

From childhood, Coloma had an eye for the changing of the seasons and for the play of colours in her parents' flower garden. Her eyes widened through time and she discovered the picturesque character of her daily environment. Once she had become skilful with oil paint and brush, she succeeded at a very young age in reproducing this environment on canvas. She has always remained devoted to her birthplace with heart and soul.

On 3 May 1938 she married Franciscus X.H. Leenders (1907-1980). The couple had four boys and two girls: Jan M. Leenders (1939), Aldegonda L.H. Leenders (1940), Leopold J. Leenders (1941), Hendrik Leenders (1943), Guido J. Leenders (1952) and Maria B. Leenders (1953).

Immediately after her marriage she stayed for a short period in Province Street in Antwerp. In the course of her life she would change her residence several times: Lier (1938), Turnhout (1940), Weelde (1945), Oud-Turnhout (1948), Willebroek (1957), Weelde (1973) and Sint-Katelijne-Waver (2005).

Empathic and always concerned with the suffering of other people she took in three war orphans via Caritas Catholica Belgica after the Second World War: Gunter Juricek (Austria), Edith Juricek (Austria) and Jozef Walczak (Poland).

Because of her husband's professional reasons, the family moved to Willebroek in 1957 where day had a view on the Willebroek Channel. During this period she often sought inspiration in the nearby picturesque Scheldt villages  of Sint-Amands, Luipegem, Tielrode and many others.

She spent the last 30 years of her life in her native village of Weelde. She died in 2007 at the age of 91 in Edegem (Antwerp).

Education
She received primary education at the Municipal Primary School of Sint-Jan in Weelde. In the the sixth grade she received tutoring from master Verbeeck in preparation for her French-language education in secondary education. When she was twelve, she left for the internationally orientated boarding school Sint-Ursula-Institute in Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Waver. In her first year in the secondary she came out top of the class.

By nature she was left-handed but she had to learn to write and draw with her right hand from a young age. In her later life she would mainly paint right-handed but make use of her left hand to add details.

In 1932 her parents invited the Bruges art painter René Thys (1899-1978) to stay in their house in Weelde for six months. During this period he taught Coloma the basic principles of painting. Her unwavering curiosity to master the finesse of painting art pushed her to enrol in the Municipal Academy of Fine Arts in Sint-Niklaas at a later age.

From 1980 to 2007 she was a member of the Nicolaus Poppelius local history and heritage association and from 1989 to 2007 she was the only woman member of the Royal Mechlin Sint-Lucas guild.

Style & Inspiration
Nature was an inexhaustible source of inspiration for her. Often she went out armed with easel, pallet and pen, to see and capture the most surprising effects of nature.

Her art is simple in its conception and well measured. As a native Campine, most of her works are emotionally charged and in each of them a memory is embodied. A special aspect in her work are flowers, full of relief and warmth, sober and varied. A particularly uniform colouring is found in her farmhouses, always painted from nature. She managed also to capture the Willebroek Channel with its gray, dark winter sky in a fascinating way on her canvas.

Seasons were put in the spotlight according to their colourful flowering periods of bog myrtle and heathland. The relentless urge to admire the beauty of  "The Liereman" and the " Kalmthoutse Heide" will always haunt her.

She could precisely locate all her landscapes because everything was sketched on the spot. She found much of her inspiration in the Antwerp and Brabant Campine.

The simplicity, which graces not only her character but also her work, is a pearl on her crown.

Exhibitions
In 1971 she gave her first exhibition at the Galeria Hacienda in Keerbergen. The former art critic A. Le Roy asked himself how it was possible for such talent to remain hidden for so long. An exaggerated self-critical attitude was perhaps one of the most probable reasons.

In 1975 the intercommunal company Intercom in Willebroek invited her for their 8th cultural event as a female exhibitor. This choice was clearly in the context of the International Women's Year. Council member Liliane Verreth clearly talked in her opening speech from the perspective of a woman and her development opportunities in the society of that time. During the private viewing before the exhibition, poetess Tine Rabhooy described Swaan’s works of art as an "oasis of simplicity in the middle of the hustle and bustle of daily life" and emphasized the play of colours in the changing seasons.

An overview of her solo exhibitions:


 * 1971 :  Keerbergen - Galeria Hacienda
 * 1973 :  Willebroek - Galerij "De Schouwpijp"
 * 1975 :  Willebroek - Intercom in 't kader van het "Jaar van de vrouw"
 * 1976 :  Weelde - De Groes
 * 1996 :  Weelde - De Brouwerij

An overview of her group exhibitions:


 * 1942 :  Turnhout - Kursaal ter gelegenheid van de Jacob Smitsherdenking
 * 1966 :  Willebroek - Kunstkring "De Brug"
 * 1971 :  Willebroek - Gemeentelijke feestzaal
 * 1971 :  Rotselaar - Monfortaans Seminarie
 * 1972 :  Puurs - Kunstkring "'Het Vierkant"
 * 1975 :  Weelde - Kunstkring "Luxuria"
 * 1977 :  Willebroek - 14 jaar Schouwpijp
 * 1983 :  Turnhout - De Warande
 * 1989 :  Mechelen - Koninklijke Lucasgilde
 * 1990 :  Poppel - Cultuurfestival
 * 1990 :  Mechelen - Koninklijke Lucasgilde
 * 1991 :  Mechelen - Koninklijke Lucasgilde
 * 1993 :  Mechelen - Koninklijke Lucasgilde
 * 1994 :  Mechelen - Koninklijke Lucasgilde
 * 1995 :  Mechelen - Koninklijke Lucasgilde