Over de kunstenaar

Herman Berserik (1921, The Hague – 2002, The Hague) was a Dutch painter, wall painter, draughtsman, illustrator, engraver. He trained under Willem Schrofer (painting), Willem Rozendaal (engraving), Paul Citroen and Rein Draijer at the Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten (Royal Academy of Fine Arts), The Hague, from 1939-1944. He joined the Haagse Kunstkring in 1946, and he was a member of the artists group Verve in the period 1951-1958. From 1958 to 1978 he was a teacher at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, The Hague. Since 1963 he was an active member of Pulchri Studio, The Hague. He lived and worked in the country estate Voorde in Rijswijk from 1952 onwards. Berserik made posters, advertising graphics for among others Philips, PTT, KLM, book covers for famous writers as Louis Paul Boon, Willem Elsschot, Paul van Ostaijen. He produced an animated movie on the Delta Works. He designed settings and costumes for theatre productions. As a painter, he created 1500 paintings, city views, seascapes, landscapes, self-portraits, still lifes. He made several wall paintings, for instance near Hollands Spoor in The Hague. Berserik belongs to De Nieuwe Haagse School (The New Hague School). He received a Royal Scholarship for Painting in 1948 and 1949. He was awarded the Jacob Maris Prize for materials in 1950, for engraving in 1952 and 1960; the David Roëll Prize in 1951; the Jacob Hartig Oeuvre Prize in 2000. His works are in the collections of the Haags Gemeentemuseum, Museum Rijswijk, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. In the period 1947 -2001 Berserik had 38 solo exhibitions.
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