Pencil drawing Bernard van Vlijmen (1940)

This original pencil drawing by the artist Bernard van Vlijmen was the first prize of competition A in the Hilversumsche Golfweek in August 1940. The prize was won by Godard van Reede and his portrait was sketched on the spot by the well-known painter and draughtsman Bernard van Vlijmen, also a member of De Hilversumsche.

Bernardus Alfons Ignatus Gerardus (Bernard) van Vlijmen (The Hague, 23 October 1895 – Bardolino, Italy, July 1977) was a Dutch painter, graphic designer, illustrator, political draughtsman, draughtsman, watercolourist, bookbinding designer and pastellist. Van Vlijmen’s mother died at birth.

Bernard van Vlijmen senior moved with his family to Schijndel in 1895, Bernard Jr. lived and then worked in Amsterdam until 1940. Then in Naarden and since 1963 in the Italian Bardolino.

He was a pupil of the Rijksnormaalschool (signing the deed) and of the Rijksacademie van Beeldende Kunsten, both in Amsterdam under the direction of Nicolaas van der Waay.

He then studied in Italy for one year and also worked in Spain, Switzerland and South America. He painted and drew portraits in naturalistic style. Van Vlijmen worked as a draftsman for various weekly and daily newspapers. Characteristic are his pencil drawings of factory and office interiors. Remarkable are the occasional portraits and group portraits drawn on the occasion of an anniversary.

Examples are the 650th anniversary of Amsterdam and portraits as we see here and for example of Douglas Monk.

For the series of albums Zwerftochten in Ons Land for the N.V. Koek- en Beschuitfabriek G. Hille en Zn. in Zaandam he designed the covers and drew the illustrations. In the thirties he also drew the tapes of various children’s books by J.B. Schuil, such as De Katjangs and De Artapappa’s.

In the Tax Museum in Rotterdam hangs a painting made by him by Minister of Finance Willem Treub. In 1952 he painted his masterpiece, a life-size portrait of the then English Princess Elizabeth on horseback, which is now part of the art collection of Buckingham Palace. In 1973 he self-published his autobiography Mijn leven als kunstschilder (My life as a painter). Bernard van Vlijmen was married twice; he had a daughter from his first marriage.