Constant David Ludovic (1870 - 1951)

CDL (Constant) Artz, (1870 - 1951), and in addition to being a painter, he was also a watercolorist, copyist, art dealer and drawing teacher. Impressionist.

Life and work: Painter Constant David Ludovic Artz was born on June 3, 1870 in Paris. He died on February 23, 1951 in Soestdijk (province of Utrecht). In addition to being a painter, Constant was also a watercolorist, copyist, art dealer and art teacher.

Constant Artz is a son of painter David Adolph Constant Artz (1837-1890) and Hélène Artz-Schemel (1850-1907). His father was a well-known artist from the Hague School and Japonism movement. Constant was born in Paris in 1870, where many Dutch artists lived at the time. His father shared a studio there with painters Otto Franz Scholderer (1834-1902) and Willem Maris (1844-1910). In this period his father often exhibited paintings with the painter Frederik Hendrik Kaemmerer (1839-1902). In 1874 the Artz family moved to The Hague.

Constant turned out to have an artistic talent at a young age. At the age of twelve he was enrolled at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. In 1899 he became an apprentice to Tony Offermans (1854-1911). He also received advice from his father Adolph Artz, Willem Maris and Hendrik Willem Mesdag (1831-1915). Like his father, Constant was fascinated by nature.

He painted many landscapes with mills and marines. In addition to these genre scenes, he also painted cityscapes and still lifes. Presumably under the influence of Willem Maris, Constant concentrated on Dutch landscapes with ducks by water. In the nineteenth century, these scenes were of great interest to the public. With a smooth, impressionistic touch, he painted ducks with their chicks in all their ways. Constant was a master at incorporating sun and light effects into his work and had a great sense of color. His paintings, often small in size, are notable for their friendly appearance and are still in demand. Constant signed his work with 'Constant Artz'. His professional period starts from around 1899 until his death in 1951. In addition to being a painter, Constant was also a very skilled watercolourist. He mainly copied watercolors by artists of the Hague School. The subjects that Constant painted are animal images (genre), landscapes (genre), seascapes (genre), cityscapes and still lifes.

Several museums own work by Constant Artz. Constant lived after Paris The Hague 1874-1885, Soestdijk 1885 - 1926, Katwijk aan Zee 1926 - 1931 and then in Soestdijk. He taught painter Leendert Scheltema (1876-1966).