Theo van Hoytema

Theodorus van Hoytema, or Hoijtema (18 December 1863 — 28 August 1917) was a Dutch lithographer, illustrator and graphic designer, known for his book covers and calendars; especially those depicting birds.

Biography

His father was Secretary-General of the Department of Finance. He was the youngest of eight children. Both of his parents died during the 1870s, so he and some siblings moved to Klein Stadwijk, a village in Voorschoten. There, he received his first drawing lessons from his eldest sister. He attended the Stedelijk Gymnasium Leiden and, together with two of his older brothers, passed an exam that enabled them to find work at a financial firm. Theo, however, was not satisfied with office life and decided to become an artist.

He began by taking drawing classes at the Royal Academy of Art. While there, he drew and painted the stuffed animals at the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie in Leiden. As a result, his uncle Adriaan van Oordt, Director of Brill Publishers, was able to get him his first commissions doing scientific illustrations. A street was named after him in 1923, and a monument was placed there in 2009.

Selected works