Harry Maas - Blonde woman with book

Harry Maas (1906 - 1982) Harry (Henri Frans Hubert) Maas was born on July 23, 1906 in Nederweert as the second son of the teacher, journalist and writer Herman (Hermanus Hubertus Joannes) Maas (1877-1958). In Eindhoven, Harry joined the Eindhoven Sketch Club, which was founded in 1929 by Jan and André van Bergeijk was founded. He soon becomes the driving force of this heterogeneous club, where amateurs and professionals meet each other when drawing clothed and nude models. He was prominently present at the first exhibition of the sketch club in Kunstzaal Verheugen in 1932. He also joined the South Dutch Independents, founded by Johannes Nicolaas Jr. in 1934, and was one of the most remarkable appearances in the first exhibition in 1935 in the old town hall. In 1937 he had a one-man exhibition, the only one in his life, at Kunstzaal Verheugen. In 1940 he and other Eindhoven residents became a member of the Bredasche Kunstkring, with which he exhibited several times. He is also represented with work at the national exhibitions Our Art of Today (Amsterdam 1939) and Art in Freedom (Amsterdam 1945). In December 1942 he lost one eye in a bombing. After the Second World War he exhibited as a member of Kunstkring De Kempen and was present at the last exhibition of the Eindhoven Sketch Club at the Pijnenborg art dealership in 1949. After that he was “averse” to exhibiting, because he did not have any work in stock. After all, his work is sold well, including through the art dealers Roelofs in Amsterdam and Beckers in Eindhoven. In the 1930s, Harry Maas became known as a draftsman and painter of portraits and figure paintings. He also makes linocuts and starts etching. His preferred models are the twin sisters Jeanne and Mary van den Bogaard, who correspond to his beauty ideal: slim and blonde. During the war period, Harry painted many (flower) still lifes. Around 1950, many cityscapes and landscapes were created as a result of trips to England and France. His passion for trains is given a permanent place in his oeuvre, although he likes to nostalgically return to older images and has a preference for fashionably dressed, graceful (school) girls for the upholstery as well as in his cityscapes. The female half-dressed or spicy nude runs like a common thread through his work and the countless elaborate nudes in oil paint, watercolor, black or red chalk and the quick quarter sketches of girls posing for him have become Harry Maas's trademark in a sexually freer and opening time. Nevertheless, the retrospective exhibition attempts to break through this one-sidedness and show that Harry Maas was capable of more and can be appreciated as a skilled artist.