Jan Verkade

Johannes Sixtus Gerhardus (Jan) Verkade (18 September 1868 - 19 July 1946), afterwards Willibrord Verkade O.S.B., was a Dutch Post-Impressionist and Christian Symbolist painter. A disciple of Paul Gauguin and friend of Paul Sérusier, he belonged to the circle of artists known as 'Les Nabis.' Of a Dutch anabaptist background, his artistic and spiritual journey led him to convert to Roman Catholicism, and to take Holy Orders as a Benedictine monk, taking the religious name Willibrord. He entered the Archabbey of Beuron and continued his work in a religious context, working closely with Desiderius Lenz, leader of the Beuron Art School. He worked throughout Europe and had an important influence on the continuing development of the new Benedictine Art.

Jan Verkade was born one of twins in Zaandam, the son of Ericus Verkade, founder of a well-known baker's confectionery business. His father belonged to the Mennonite sect, a religious group which regarded Catholicism with hostility. In 1877 the family moved to Amsterdam, and the twins were sent to a religious boarding school in Oisterwijk where they were considered slow. From 1883 they attended the Handelsschule in Amsterdam. Throughout childhood they were always close companions.

A family visit to Cologne Cathedral and Trier, at the Porta Nigra, awakened Verkade's artistic passion for the Primitive and Classical. Jan took every opportunity to study and draw in the galleries of the Rijksmuseum, and often skipped school to sketch at the Zoological Gardens. He resisted expectations to join the family business and to be confirmed as Mennonite, and his father accepted Jan's decision to study at the Amsterdam State Academy of Fine Arts. His twin brother was sent to England for business training, after which they led separate lives.

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