Jaap Hillenius - To grow

This work is titled "Growing" and is from the series "Sunlight VIII." It was created by Jaap Hillenius (Amsterdam, June 6, 1934 – ibid., August 26, 1999). He was a Dutch painter, draftsman, and graphic artist. His oeuvre is characterized by a contemporary variant of Impressionism, in which he managed to suggest an ideal incidence of light with a subtle interplay of colorful patches and often abstract compositions. In many of his works, it almost seems as if you are seeing a sunny day, with people in the shade of a tree by the water—captured in color, rhythm, and atmosphere.


In his early years, Hillenius worked figuratively and called himself a "sensitive expressionist." Later, his focus shifted to human perception: in series, he explored how painterly accents can influence the viewer's eye movements. In addition to paintings, he created drawings, watercolors, and prints.

Hillenius also left his mark on public spaces. In 1993, for example, he created a series of eight painted panels for the Wibaut sports hall in Amsterdam.