Max Nauta

Marten Ykes "Max" Nauta (2 April 1896 – 18 December 1957) was a Dutch painter, especially noted for his portraits, and stained glass artist.

Life Nauta was born in Deventer, son of a baker, Yke Nauta (1865-1928), and his wife Mintje (née Schotanus). His father was a gifted self-taught painter, as was his father, Klaas Nauta (1825-1872), who painted some of the biers still to be seen in the Sint-Gertrudiskerk in Workum.

Nauta received his first drawing lessons from the architect L. Groen in Alkmaar, where he attended the craft school. Thanks to a bursary from Queen Wilhelmina he was able to study at the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten in Amsterdam, where he trained as a painter under professors Carel Dake, Nicolaas van der Waay, Antoon Derkinderen, Jan Six and Willem van der Pluym.

Travelling for further study, Nauta visited, among other places, Czechoslovakia, where he stayed for two years. He organised, on behalf of the Vereniging Van Gogh, the first exhibition there of Dutch art. He was received in the palace of the president, Tomáš Masaryk. He had contact with the Czech artists Alphonse Mucha, Max Svabinsky and Alois Bileck and the sculptor Jaroslav Horejc. In the mining town of Ústí nad Labem (Aussig a/d Elbe) he met Helene (Lene) Kettner, whom he married in 1926. Harrow, West London, England. This last commission represents the height of his metaphysically inspired work.

His work was part of the painting event in the art competition at the 1924 Summer Olympics. Nauta's work was included in the 1939 exhibition and sale Onze Kunst van Heden (Our Art of Today) at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

Collections Works by Max Nauta are held in the following collections among others: Joods Historisch Museum, Amsterdam. Dutch royal family Het Loo Palace, Apeldoorn Amsterdam City Hall (Stadhuis) Second Chamber building, States General, The Hague