Jan Mankes

Jan Mankes (1889 – 1920) was a Dutch painter known for his detailed and restrained work, which ranged from self-portraits to landscapes and studies of birds and animals. He is sometimes categorised as a Symbolic Realist, though the Abstract qualities of his work remove him from both Symbolism and Realism. Mankes is also recognised as a remarkable figure of Dutch Symbolism. His technique involved working with oil paints to bring a kind of transparency to the paint, especially when working with white, which acquired a pearly lustre because of his soft brush strokes. He also used a glazing technique, applying a large number of layers of paint on an opaque base. Mankes studied and then sketched his subjects, often birds and farm animals, until he knew them by heart, and then painted them from memory.