Kees van Dongen Woman with black hat

Kees van Dongen, painter of colorful portraits of women

Kees van Dongen (1877-1968) is perhaps the most French artist in the Netherlands. He was born in Delftshaven into a family that was not well-off. His talent for drawing was quickly recognized, but there was no money for an education, let alone an art school. The fourteen-year-old Kees was sent out to work. He was barely nineteen when he left for Rotterdam alone. Kees van Dongen ma ...