André Broedelet

Broedelet was born in Batavia, his father was an engineer officer in the army. After returning to the Netherlands, the Broedelet family went to live in The Hague. André Broedelet studied from 1889 to 1895 at the Academy of Visual Arts in The Hague. He also takes lessons from Frits Jansen for some time. During his time at the Academy, Broedelet painted still lifes and nudes, among other things.

After his period in The Hague, André Broedelet stayed in Antwerp for a year. He studied there at the Antwerp Academy of Fine Arts. He was also taught by the Belgian painter Charles Verlat, who specialized in animal and genre scenes.

In 1901 André married Hetty Henkes. They had already met at the Hague Academy. Hetty Broedelet-Henkes was a talented still life painter. A year after their marriage, the couple moved to the Gooi artist village of Laren. From 1870 onwards, painters who painted in the style of the Hague School painters worked and lived here. Under the influence of the artists of the Laren school, Broedelet made farmers interiors with mothers and children.

A favorite subject of André Broedelet were children playing or singing. In his own style he made beautifully elaborated children’s heads, with striking dark eyes and Southern European faces. André Broedelet liked to paint with warm tones, which enhanced the intimacy of the performances.

André Broedelet sold most of his works through the Larensche art dealership. In 1916, the Scheveningen-based art dealer Esher Surrey curated an exhibition of the work of André and Hettty Broedelet. Broedelet was also internationally successful, as his works regularly appear in foreign collections.

Broedelet was a member of the Arti et Amicitiae and Pulchri Studio painting society. In 1904 he won a bronze medal at the World’s Fair in Saint Louis, United States.

Work by André Broedelet can be found in the Rijksmuseum and Singer Museum Laren.