Carel Willink

Carel Willink (1900-1983) was born on 7 March 1900 in Amsterdam in The Netherlands. His work is primarily associated with the Magic Realism style of art. Initially he studied medicine, then architecture, afterward deciding he wanted to be a painter and moving to Berlin to study. He experimented with various styles such as the Dada and New Objectivity (Neue Sachlichkeit) of George Grosz. For a time he also explored abstract art. On his return to Amsterdam in 1924 he had adopted a figurative style influenced by Picasso's neoclassical paintings of the 1920s. Inspired by the Italian painter Giorgio de Chirico, founder of the Scuola Metafisica that influenced the Surrealists, Willink developed his own particular style of deserted streets, squares and parks. He was also appreciated as a portraitist. Among his portraits are ones of beer baron Freddy Heineken and Queen Juliana of The Netherlands.