Henry Van Velthuysen

The Netherlands

1881 – 1954

<p class="ql-align-justify">Henry van Velthuysen was a Dutch painter who spent much of his career in the Dutch East Indies, where he became associated with the <em>Mooi Indie</em> ("Beautiful Indies") movement. After studying Fine Arts at the University of California, Berkeley, he settled in Batavia in 1905 and later became a member of the Bataviasche Kunstkring. Working primarily in oil, Van Velthuysen painted landscapes, portraits, and still lifes characterised by harmonious compositions, naturalistic detail, and a romantic vision of the Indonesian archipelago. His paintings embodied the idyllic aesthetic that appealed to colonial audiences and became synonymous with the <em>Mooi Indie</em> style.</p><p class="ql-align-justify"><br></p><p class="ql-align-justify">Between the 1920s and 1940s, Van Velthuysen exhibited extensively in the Dutch East Indies and abroad, including at the Colonial Exposition in Paris (1931) and the Peace Exhibition in Nagoya (1937). Beyond his artistic practice, he was active as a journalist, art critic, and publisher, contributing to the cultural life of the Dutch East Indies. He also mentored Indonesian painter RM Soerono Hendronoto, while his works entered the collections of institutions including Wereldmuseum Rotterdam and Museum Nusantara in Delft. Following his return to the Netherlands in 1946, Van Velthuysen continued painting from sketches made during his years in Indonesia until his death in 1954.</p><p><br></p>