Onderwijs

The artist as an entrepreneur

Rene Jacobs is proof that it’s never too late to pursue your dreams: the economist turned successful painter is now one of the leading lights of Delft’s contemporary art scene.

An entrepreneur as much as an artist, Jacobs not only keeps statistics on his paintings to determine which colors and canvas sizes are the most commercially desirable, but he also out-sources productions to China for his line of more affordable paintings for younger, less-affluent buyers.

Delft is will forever be associated with the past, with history preserved (for tourists)_, and, artistically, with Vermeer, the Delft painter of the world famous ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’. But to only look back is to ignore the artistic side of Delft today.

The Delft streets, canals and churches that once inspired the Old Dutch Masters, now inspire new contemporary artists like René Jacobs.

In front of Leger (Military) museum, on the Lange Geerstrat, is placed called ‘Galerie de Kunstkop’, Jacobs’s art gallery and workshop. Jacobs’s story however is quite different from that of other artists. As he said while we drank tea in his gallery: “Today you’re drinking tea with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”

Jacobs’s ‘Dr Jekyll-side’ is the pragmatic economist, the man who doesn’t like taking risks and therefore quit painting during his student days. His ‘Dr Hyde-side’ is the wonderfully irreverent, self-taught and commercially successful artist who now paints his own, often comically grotesque, visions of the world for a living.

Born in the Rotterdam in the late 1960s, Jacobs began painting in his youth, but only truly discovered his passion for art later, when he saw some Picasso paintings while on a trip to Paris. Jacobs however decided to reject the risky life of the artist and instead chose to concentrate on his economic studies. Like all students, he knew what an empty pocket was, and he decided it was better not to paint than to paint using cheap materials. Jacobs opted instead for a life paid for by his 9 to 5 office job.

When asked about his ‘safe’ decision, Jacobs sympathizes with other students who choose university studies over art. “Everybody has responsibilities,” the pragmatic painter says, “and it’s useless to become a professional if you can’t make a living out of your profession.”

As time passed though, Jacobs returned to painting: thanks to economist’s salary, he now could afford to buy good materials to work with. For three days a week Jacobs worked as an economist, and for the rest of the week he explored oil painting.

Everything was going well: he had a steady job, a good income and amateur painting career. But then one day the turning point came: his company was being bought out by a competitor and Jacobs was offered a very good severance pay package to leave his job.

The long-term thinking man had to decide. His careful considerations were helped by the fact that he’d enjoyed a successful first solo exposition in 2005. He finally decided to take the risk and become a professional painter. But almost immediately his pragmatic economist’s nature emerged. Jacobs had noticed the weak position most artist’s were in: not only did artists depend on galleries to show their work, but the galleries then took 50 to 60% of the price each painting sold for.

Jacobs therefore decided to start his own gallery-workshop and be his own boss. And, recalling his frustrations at having to give gallery owners large cuts of his sales, he decided to create a new business model: He’d simply rent his gallery for a fixed price to other artists for their exhibitions, and they could then keep all the earnings from paintings sold.
Know-how

Jacobs has a very special style of painting. After mastering his own oil techniques with still lifes and landscapes, he decided to focus on what inspired him most: people. His approach isn’t just to paint what everybody can see, but what he, the artist, sees. The result is an “emotionally deformed” reality, revealing the gap between who people are and what they show; their souls captured and filtered by Jacobs’s energetically colorful palette.

Jacobs says he aims “to show tragedy”, but his painting style often reveals this in a comical way: tragedy and humor, both in the same palette, and perhaps a reflection of Jacobs’s two faces. His is a personal style unlike that of the Dutch classics and most other artists. As Jacobs says, this could be due to his lack of formal academic training, but in the long run, the unique way his career has developed brought him to a very personal and popular painting style, and also gave him the business know-how to prosper commercially as an artist.

Ever the economist, Jacobs keeps statistics on the work he sells. After years of selling paintings, he knows which colors and canvass sizes are most popular with buyers. While this may seem rather commercial for an artist, Jacobs says: “I’m not selfish. If I’m the only one who likes the painting, it’s not a good painting.”

His style is especially popular with younger people, who appreciate the subtleties of humor and grotesque comic appearances on his canvasses. “Not that many people are still laughing when they reach fifty,” Jacobs says.

Jacobs’s focus on young people goes further: because his paintings aren’t so affordable for young people, he now makes a “cheaper line of paintings” that are produced in China. The procedure is simple: he designs pictures on his computer and sends them to China, where a local Chinese painter then paints them for Jacobs. The result is a collection of more affordable paintings.

As an artist, Jacobs is forever searching for evolution. He first painted deformed reality, then started the Chinese project, and now is experimenting with a new non-oil style. And he has many more plans for the future, especially involving the use of technology in art.

After a two-hour talk, the tea is finished and I feel at home in Jacobs’ studio. But once out in the street, I start to see peoples’ faces as depicted in Jacobs’s paintings: the true portraits by an honest man who shows that dreams can come true and people can still laugh at fifty.

Rene Jacobs: “I’m not selfish. If I’m the only one who likes the painting, it’s not a good painting.” (Photo: Sam Rentmeester/FMAX)

An entrepreneur as much as an artist, Jacobs not only keeps statistics on his paintings to determine which colors and canvas sizes are the most commercially desirable, but he also out-sources productions to China for his line of more affordable paintings for younger, less-affluent buyers.

Delft is will forever be associated with the past, with history preserved (for tourists)_, and, artistically, with Vermeer, the Delft painter of the world famous ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’. But to only look back is to ignore the artistic side of Delft today.

The Delft streets, canals and churches that once inspired the Old Dutch Masters, now inspire new contemporary artists like René Jacobs.

In front of Leger (Military) museum, on the Lange Geerstrat, is placed called ‘Galerie de Kunstkop’, Jacobs’s art gallery and workshop. Jacobs’s story however is quite different from that of other artists. As he said while we drank tea in his gallery: “Today you’re drinking tea with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”

Jacobs’s ‘Dr Jekyll-side’ is the pragmatic economist, the man who doesn’t like taking risks and therefore quit painting during his student days. His ‘Dr Hyde-side’ is the wonderfully irreverent, self-taught and commercially successful artist who now paints his own, often comically grotesque, visions of the world for a living.

Born in the Rotterdam in the late 1960s, Jacobs began painting in his youth, but only truly discovered his passion for art later, when he saw some Picasso paintings while on a trip to Paris. Jacobs however decided to reject the risky life of the artist and instead chose to concentrate on his economic studies. Like all students, he knew what an empty pocket was, and he decided it was better not to paint than to paint using cheap materials. Jacobs opted instead for a life paid for by his 9 to 5 office job.

When asked about his ‘safe’ decision, Jacobs sympathizes with other students who choose university studies over art. “Everybody has responsibilities,” the pragmatic painter says, “and it’s useless to become a professional if you can’t make a living out of your profession.”

As time passed though, Jacobs returned to painting: thanks to economist’s salary, he now could afford to buy good materials to work with. For three days a week Jacobs worked as an economist, and for the rest of the week he explored oil painting.

Everything was going well: he had a steady job, a good income and amateur painting career. But then one day the turning point came: his company was being bought out by a competitor and Jacobs was offered a very good severance pay package to leave his job.

The long-term thinking man had to decide. His careful considerations were helped by the fact that he’d enjoyed a successful first solo exposition in 2005. He finally decided to take the risk and become a professional painter. But almost immediately his pragmatic economist’s nature emerged. Jacobs had noticed the weak position most artist’s were in: not only did artists depend on galleries to show their work, but the galleries then took 50 to 60% of the price each painting sold for.

Jacobs therefore decided to start his own gallery-workshop and be his own boss. And, recalling his frustrations at having to give gallery owners large cuts of his sales, he decided to create a new business model: He’d simply rent his gallery for a fixed price to other artists for their exhibitions, and they could then keep all the earnings from paintings sold.
Know-how

Jacobs has a very special style of painting. After mastering his own oil techniques with still lifes and landscapes, he decided to focus on what inspired him most: people. His approach isn’t just to paint what everybody can see, but what he, the artist, sees. The result is an “emotionally deformed” reality, revealing the gap between who people are and what they show; their souls captured and filtered by Jacobs’s energetically colorful palette.

Jacobs says he aims “to show tragedy”, but his painting style often reveals this in a comical way: tragedy and humor, both in the same palette, and perhaps a reflection of Jacobs’s two faces. His is a personal style unlike that of the Dutch classics and most other artists. As Jacobs says, this could be due to his lack of formal academic training, but in the long run, the unique way his career has developed brought him to a very personal and popular painting style, and also gave him the business know-how to prosper commercially as an artist.

Ever the economist, Jacobs keeps statistics on the work he sells. After years of selling paintings, he knows which colors and canvass sizes are most popular with buyers. While this may seem rather commercial for an artist, Jacobs says: “I’m not selfish. If I’m the only one who likes the painting, it’s not a good painting.”

His style is especially popular with younger people, who appreciate the subtleties of humor and grotesque comic appearances on his canvasses. “Not that many people are still laughing when they reach fifty,” Jacobs says.

Jacobs’s focus on young people goes further: because his paintings aren’t so affordable for young people, he now makes a “cheaper line of paintings” that are produced in China. The procedure is simple: he designs pictures on his computer and sends them to China, where a local Chinese painter then paints them for Jacobs. The result is a collection of more affordable paintings.

As an artist, Jacobs is forever searching for evolution. He first painted deformed reality, then started the Chinese project, and now is experimenting with a new non-oil style. And he has many more plans for the future, especially involving the use of technology in art.

After a two-hour talk, the tea is finished and I feel at home in Jacobs’ studio. But once out in the street, I start to see peoples’ faces as depicted in Jacobs’s paintings: the true portraits by an honest man who shows that dreams can come true and people can still laugh at fifty.

Rene Jacobs: “I’m not selfish. If I’m the only one who likes the painting, it’s not a good painting.” (Photo: Sam Rentmeester/FMAX)

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