Jaap Schreurs Kunstschilder

Life and Work of Jaap Schreurs (1913-1983)

Painter and father

5.0 Life and work in Utrecht with the family

There were many new developments in this period: Because of Eva's job, the family moved to Utrecht in 1951. Jaap soon got into an extra-marital affair there, which had a strong impact on the family for many years. His stomach ulcer also played up a lot. Although this would continue to affect his general health over the years, he continued to draw and paint unabated.

Woman with red tulip

Eta paint on hardboard

27x41cm ± 1955

In the early 1950s there was no art academy in Utrecht and the necessary painting materials were scarcely available. Partly because of this, Jaap switched to the new Eta paint, released by Talens, which allowed for faster work. Although the colors were less warmly expressive, he was enthusiastic about the possibilities offered by its fast drying time.

To somewhat compensate for the flatter expression of this paint quality, he mixed it with sand in order to obtain more relief. This, however, resulted in works that were extra heavy in weight.

Red Horse

Eta paint mixed with sand on board 65x67cm ± 1960

Once again, the impromptu holiday sketches reappeared, often drawn with a dry twig dipped in a small inkwell that had quickly been bought in a local village store: Jaap really had no choice, because if he didn't work, his stomach ulcer would flare up again.

Castle "'t Steen" in Antwerp - 1953

Village somewhere in France

Meanwhile, Eva set up a boarding house, so that she could now stay at home with her children. In collaboration with various social organizations she managed to turn this boarding house into a residential community in which people of various nationalities and backgrounds, including disabled people, could be offered a place to live. Nelleke and Paula continued to grow up in this artistic and cosmopolitan situation.

Camping in France - 1954

Cadzand harbour - 1952

Courtyard somewhere in France

Two Friends 1957

83x83cm Eta paint mixed with sand on hardboard

In the residential community that gradually developed, the guests liked to visit Jaap in his studio to exchange ideas with him personally. Those conversations could sometimes last well into the night. Also in a larger setting, for example when everyone was sitting at the table, he would sometimes bring up Krishnamurti's vision and thereby create space in what earlier had been differences of opinion. One could say he served as a trusted contact person within the community and in a sense gradually became the soul of the house.

In those years he also led a painting group that had been set up by the Centrum voor Zelfbezinning (‘Center for Self-Reflection’) in Utrecht

One of the boarding house residents had organized (despite Jaap's doubts) an exhibition of his work in Norg, in the north of Holland. To everyone's surprise, the majority of the paintings on display were sold, so that we can only show a few surviving pieces from this period here.

Three women next to a bench 50x55cm

Eta paint mixed with sand on board ± 1958

Despite his new relationship and the many contacts in the residential community, Jaap felt lonely during those years. Partly due to his shy character, he could not find a connection in the Utrecht art scene. "Those guys are all acting so weird here," he would say. Perhaps he also felt the loss of his friends and colleagues, who had been part of his natural environment in art-loving The Hague.

Several times he persuaded his daughter Paula to secretly stay home from school and spend the day with him. That always resulted in a pleasant sense of connection. Once in a while he would sigh and share with her that even though the boarding house offered plenty of company, he felt he had no one to turn to and would like to have a friend.