Dutch artist Christophe van der Windt was born in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek (Belgium) on 22 August 1877. Chris van der Windt died in the Dutch city Leiden on 7 February 1952. Besides being a painter, he was a decorative painter of interiors, watercolourist, graphic artist, etcher and draughtsman.

Background Chris van der Windt

Chris van der Windt was a son of Arij van der Windt (1842-1888) and Anna Christina Kragt (1842-1921). Arij was a furniture manufacturer from Vlaardingen and his mother was from Zoeterwoude. His parents were married on 7 October 1876 in Brussels. Chris had two younger brothers, namely: Laurent (1878-1916) and Jean José (1880-1967), both born in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek. Laurent was also a painter and Jean Josse was a florist by profession in The Hague.

On 1 January 1890, Maria Magdalena Windt (1844-1918) settled in Leiden with Arij and Anna’s three children. She was a cigar trader and married to Cornelis Voet. In addition, Maria was a sister of Dutch painter Philip Pieter Windt (1847-1921). It is likely that her temporary supervision of the children had to do with the death of their father Arij.

On 3 December 1890, widow Anna Christina Kragt remarried in Leiden to 62-year-old widower Carel Trouwee. The family was then presumably reunited and Chris took courses at the Craft School and the Mathesis Scientiarum Genitrix in Leiden. There he was taught ornament drawing. In addition, Chris was a pupil of Wilhelm Johan Lampe (1868-1933), who ran an drawing education from about 1890-1901. This was an establishment to teach drawing.

In 1897, Chris entered military service. His external features were recorded in the military register, including: blue eyes, brown hair and a height of 1.57 metres. In 1898 and 1899, he worked as an apprentice with the well-known decoration painter Pieter Johannes Niesten (1842-1918). At that time, he painted a lot for the theatre ‘Leidse Schouwburg’. Thereafter, he developed into an independent and versatile artist.

His oeuvre

Chris van der Windt often worked ‘en plein air’. He mainly painted landscapes in the style of the Hague School. His subjects also included still lifes and animals. Chris is also counted among the Leiden Impressionists, a group of painters also known as the Leiden School. Other Leiden Impressionists are: Arend Jan van Driesten (1878-1969), Willem van der Nat (1864-1929) and Alex Rosemeier (1888-1992).

From 1903 to 1917, Chris sold works through the renowned art gallery Boussod and Valadon & Cie in The Hague. Here he meets famous Dutch artists Willem Maris (1844-1910) and Willem Bastiaan Tholen (1860-1931), who greatly appreciated his work. In 1907, Jozef Israëls (1824-1911) asked Chris if he would like to become a member of the Dutch Drawing Company. At the time, membership was quite an honour. After 1917, he sold his work mainly through the well-known art dealer and framer Sala. By no means all his work stays in the Netherlands. Much is sold to Britain, Canada and the United States of America. As a result, he also receives an invitation for an outside membership of London’s prestigious Royal Academy of Arts.

He was a teacher of his younger brother Laurent van der Windt (1878-1916) and Christine van Dam (1884-1968). Christina van Dam was the daughter of painter Jan van Dam (1857-1927). He also taught Charles François Henri Dumont (1866-1933), Eduard Verboog (1890-1986) and Henk Duiverman (1906-1973).

Several works by Chris van der Windt hang in the municipal museum ‘De Lakenhal’ in Leiden.