User:Lex Polderman

Piet (Peter) Polderman (Den Haag, 22 augustus 1933 – 15 oktober 1998) was a painter.

"Movement is my subject, whether in theater, musicians, and circus, but also in my landscapes and still life, there must be no silence. I use color to accelerate movement. I work traditionally, but in the tradition of all times and many cultures, and by tradition, I mean the need to express what I experience as emotion, atmosphere, form, and color through visual means."

Education and Work
Peter Polderman studied at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. He became an interior architect and painter. His focus as a painter was not on realistic depiction but on conveying the atmosphere. He was fascinated by the circus and daily life on the beach or café terraces. He often made sketches on-site to develop later in his studio and traveled regularly with a circus.

Polderman developed as a painter from 1947 to 1953. As a 12-year-old, he attended the Royal Academy on Saturday afternoons, later taking lessons at Jos van den Berg's studio and receiving advice from Joop Kropff and Jan van Heel. However, he considered himself self-taught. In the seventies, he taught at the Vrije Academie de Vlietstreek and from 1982, worked as a model and portrait painting guide at the Vrije Academie in The Hague.

The theme of music played a significant role in his work, leading to various exhibitions featuring works related to the Residentie Orkest and the North Sea Jazz Festival. He also exhibited in the Hague Art Circle, various galleries, art lending libraries, Düsseldorf (Germany), and Christchurch (New Zealand).

Peter Polderman made many work trips to France, Italy, Portugal, Malta, Singapore, and New Zealand. During some trips, he was a guest at circuses to paint during performances, such as Circus Mullens and Circus Boltini in the Netherlands, Circus Busch-Roland in Germany, and Circus Pinder and Circus Zavatta in France.

His early work is known for its use of watercolor, gouache, and brush drawings. Later, he preferred tempera on prepared paper, often making the tempera mediums himself. The bookshelf series was his color study, after which his work became much more colorful.

He was a member of the Hague Art Circle.

Commissioned Work

 * Six prints for the 75th anniversary of the Residentie Orkest.
 * A drawing book with yoga exercises.
 * A mural in the auditorium of a primary school in Alphen.
 * Forty drawings of various sports for Sporttoto.
 * Book cover for the children's book 'De club der jonge Kaninefaten' by N.W.C. Kuyk.
 * Fifty-three portraits of Dutch poets in gouache, exhibited at the Hague Municipal Museum and later included in the collection of the Dutch Literary Museum. A combined bundle of poets' portraits and their poems was also published.
 * Various small commissions such as portraits.

Known Themes

 * Circus: Threatening tigers (foto)
 * Terrace and Beach: Beach with dark sea (foto)
 * Cafés and Shops: Café table (foto)
 * Scheveningen Then and Now
 * Books:
 * Music:
 * Jazz: Ton van der Geld quartet, tempera, 1981 (foto)
 * Classical: Residentie Orkest 75th anniversary, 1979

Notable Owners

 * Patty Brard, during her 1993 bankruptcy, owned a large painting by Peter Polderman depicting a tamer with threatening tigers, which was sold at the auction of her assets.

Recognition

 * Polderman is listed in the Lexicon Dutch Visual Artists 1750-1950.