The Life and Work of Kor Postma

Born on January 3, 1903, in Hilversum, Cornelis Johannes Postma—known widely as Kor Postma—was a man whose life was shaped by the shifting borders of European art. The son of Gerardhus Postma and Joanna van Doorn, he grew up in the Netherlands before his creative path eventually led him toward the heart of France. His life was marked by a deep connection to the visual language of the surreal, a direction that would define his reputation as a Dutch surrealist painter.

Postma’s career was not a simple, linear progression. He moved through various cities, including Laren and Amsterdam, before settling in Paris in 1939. This move placed him in the center of a complex and often difficult era. During the German occupation of France, his professional life became intertwined with the complexities of the art trade, as he worked as an art agent and dealer. These years required him to navigate a landscape of shifting loyalties and the heavy realities of wartime commerce.

He remained in Paris for the rest of his life, continuing to work as an artist even as the world around him changed. When he died on December 8, 1977, he left behind a body of work that captured the strange and the unexpected. His paintings often sought to place familiar objects into unfamiliar settings, creating a sense of quiet tension that remains central to his legacy.

Early Life, Family and Training

Born in Hilversum, Cornelis Johannes Postma grew up in a quiet corner of the Netherlands. His path toward art began in a very personal way; in 1923, while living near his hometown of Laren, he began teaching himself how to paint. This period of self-directed study provided the foundation for a technical skill that would later be refined through formal guidance from established figures. He eventually sought out art lessons from the Flemish expressionist painters Joseph Coutré and Gustaaf De Smet, and he also studied under the Dutch artist Willy Schoonhoven van Beurden.

His personal life was marked by a significant union in Amsterdam. On 21 April 1926, he married Betsy Booleman. The couple’s family grew three years later with the birth of their daughter, Heddy Ly Postma. These early years in the Netherlands, moving between the landscapes of Laren and the urban environment of Amsterdam, shaped the man who would eventually seek a new life in Paris.

Artistic Activity in the Netherlands

During the years between 1926 and 1939, Postma’s life was centered around the artistic hubs of Laren and Amsterdam. It was in Amsterdam that he found steady work as a restorer at the P. de Boer art dealership. This position allowed him to work closely with many different types of art, and it was through this professional connection that he first encountered the surrealist works of artists like Giorgio de Chirico and Max Ernst. These encounters helped shape the direction his own painting would eventually take.

His presence in the Dutch art scene was marked by several group exhibitions. He was a regular participant in the exhibitions titled De Onafhankelijken, showing his work in 1927, 1928, 1929, and 1930. These shows placed him alongside other significant figures of the era. He also collaborated in exhibitions with artists such as Karel Willink and Pyke Koch, establishing himself within the creative circles of the time before his eventual move to France.

Artistic Activity in Paris

In 1939, Kor Postma left the Netherlands for Paris, seeking a new chapter in the French capital. His time as a dedicated painter in the city was short-lived, however, as the onset of the German occupation in June 1940 fundamentally altered his circumstances. The stability of his artistic practice was interrupted by the realities of war, forcing him to adapt his professional life to a much more complicated environment.

During the difficult years of World War II, Postma transitioned from his primary focus on painting to working as an art agent and dealer. This period saw him navigating the complex and often fraught intersections of the art market and the occupying forces. His deep knowledge of Dutch art became a tool in a landscape where the movement of paintings was heavily controlled and scrutinized. He remained in Paris through these turbulent years and continued to live there for the rest of his life, eventually passing away in the city in 1977.

Technique and Artistic Style

Kor Postma was largely a self-taught artist, developing his own visual language through a wide variety of mediums. His hands were often busy with painting and watercolour, but his curiosity extended into drawing, linocuts, and the intricate world of ex-libri. He also applied his sense of composition to illustrations and set designs, showing a versatility that allowed him to move between different forms of visual storytelling.

The direction of his work shifted as he matured. His early pieces leaned toward expressionism, focusing on a more raw and emotional application of form. However, by 1929, his style began to transform into surrealism, occasionally touching upon magical realism. This period saw him moving away from pure emotion toward a more structured, dreamlike logic that would define much of his output.

After the Second World War, his approach to the canvas changed once more. He sought a truthful representation of his subjects, yet he placed these realistic motifs within entirely unreal environments. This tension between the recognizable and the impossible became a hallmark of his later years, creating a sense of quiet unease through the juxtaposition of the mundane and the strange.

Key Works and Notable Paintings

Postma’s output often focused on the quiet tension found within still life arrangements. In 1953, he produced NATURE MORTE AUX GRENADES ET BOUGIES, a work that captures a specific stillness through its choice of subjects. His ability to place familiar objects in unexpected settings became a hallmark of his later years. This approach is evident in Still life with fire, bones and glue, painted in 1959, where the composition brings together disparate elements into a single, focused scene.

The artist continued to explore these themes throughout his life in Paris. One of his later works, Becasse dans une fenêtre [Woodcock in a window], was painted in 1975, showing a continued interest in the relationship between nature and the domestic interior. He also created NATURE MORTE À LA COCCINELLE, a piece that reflects his ability to find weight and presence in small, natural subjects. Through these paintings, he maintained a consistent interest in the way light and shadow interact with the physical world.