Johan Jeuken (Venray, 1909 - Amsterdam, February 14, 1982) made naive paintings; himself he called himself a funeral painter. His profession was tailor-maker: he studied the subject with his father and settled in 1933 as an independent ladies and men's teacher. Development
In 1947, Jeuken moved from Venray with his family to Amsterdam, where he continued his tailoring. In 1956 he joined the clothing factory as a designer and business manager. In 1964 he received a severe heart attack and had to complete his work on doctor's advice. After a prolonged recovery period, he made a drawing at the request of his wife. His sons, both graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, were so excited about the result that they urged him to continue drawing. Jeuken wrote for a course at the Rietveld Academy and expanded his knowledge of drawing and painting. Venray
From 1967 he painted almost exclusively with oil paint. His paintings almost all relate to the Venray of his youth. They capture specific events such as the fair, processions, shooters guild and sport demonstrations. Voyages from the primary school, cattle market, mobilization and bombing of Venray are painted with endless patience and precision.
Following an exhibition in the Venrays Museum, Frans de Roos of the Venray Foundation writes monumental:
"Virtually all scenes have been painted within a framework of surrounding buildings, which has made Jeuken an interesting way of portraying many buildings and streets in Venrayse from his youth. These are buildings now protected as a national monument such as the Great Church and the former City Hall in the Grand Place, but also for monumental buildings that are no longer there. " Recognition and exhibitions
The journalist Carel Swinkels, who may be called his promoter as an art painter, labeled his style as 'anecdotal'. In 1969 work was shown at the Talens exhibition. In 1970, the municipality of Amsterdam bought his work and the Stedelijk Museum took the painting The Fire of the Paterskerk in the collection. By an exhibition in the Amsterdam Gallery Asselijn in 1971, Jeuken got national fame. In 1972 he exhibited at Fodor Museum and in 1973 his work was featured at the Brabants Museum. In the Hague Courant, Dolf Welling wrote: "Johan Jeuken is one of the most versatile and gifted naïves hunted by some collectors."
Rank Xerox devoted almost the whole Christmas number of the company magazine to the work of Jeuken in 1974. In the following years he exhibited a lot of domestics at home and abroad. The Limburg Museum in Venlo bought a number of paintings and also the Venrays Museum has a number of cloths. In 1981, there was a disease of cancers. In the autumn of 1981, he still received the Venroad Erepries, awarded to him by the Association of Venray Folk Culture "Het Veldeke" for his contribution to imaging Limburg's history. Jeuken passed away on February 14, 1982.
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