"Maurits (Mau) van der Valk was a painter, etcher and art critic. His father was a house painter and taught him the first painting techniques. Maurits preferred an artistic direction and attended the National Academy of Visual Arts in Amsterdam from 1878 to 1884. He was taught by August Allebé, among others. . . . In 1881 the Amsterdam literary society Flanor was founded, with the aim of renewing literature and art. Flanor became the meeting point of the Tachtigers, a group of young progressive writers and artists. Maurits van der Valk was one of them, as were his art friends Jacobus Van Looy, Jan Veth, and Willem Witsen. . . . From 1883 to 1890 Van der Valk taught at drawing schools in Amsterdam. In 1889 his studio caught fire. With the insurance money he moved to Paris, where he lived for some time and met his future wife Baukje van Mesdag. In 1893 the family returned to the Netherlands. After his return Van der Valk taught privately to Pieter Dupont and Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita, among others."
– from biographical notes published by Hein A.M. Klaver Kunsthandal
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| Joseph Jessurun de Mesquita Portrait of Maurits Willem van der Valk 1918 woodcut Teylers Museum, Haarlem |
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| Joseph Jessurun de Mesquita Tachtigers Willem Witsen, Willem Kloos, Hein Boeken, Maurits van der Valk 1888 photograph Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Maurits Willem van der Valk Still Life with Asian Art Objects and Shell before 1935 oil on canvas Teylers Museum, Haarlem |
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| Maurits Willem van der Valk Hilversum Kei (Ice Age Boulder used as medieval Border Marker) 1921 drawing (colored chalk) private collection |
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| Maurits Willem van der Valk Landscape before 1935 drawing Teylers Museum, Haarlem |
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| Maurits Willem van der Valk River Landscape before 1935 etching Philadelphia Museum of Art |
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| Maurits Willem van der Valk River Landscape with Windmill before 1935 lithograph Teylers Museum, Haarlem |
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| Maurits Willem van der Valk Still Life with Shells 1917 oil on canvas private collection |
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| Maurits Willem van der Valk Still Life with Shells and Delftware before 1935 wash drawing, with watercolor Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Maurits Willem van der Valk Shell before 1935 wash drawing, with watercolor Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Maurits Willem van der Valk Shells and Frog before 1935 lithograph Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Maurits Willem van der Valk Shell before 1935 wash drawing Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Maurits Willem van der Valk Shell before 1935 wash drawing Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Maurits Willem van der Valk Shell before 1935 wash drawing Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Maurits Willem van der Valk Shell before 1935 wash drawing private collection |