Siep van den Berg – Abstract composition, 1954 – tempera on canvas, professionally framed

About Siep van den Berg

Siep van den Berg (Tirns 1913 – Amsterdam 1998) was a versatile Dutch painter and sculptor. The son of a blacksmith, he initially attended technical school, but his artistic calling eventually led him to a remarkable career in the art world.

In 1930, seeking guidance for his ambitions, Van den Berg visited Frisian painter Jacob Ydema, with Ydema making some sketches of him. Between 1930 and 1933, he attended the evening drawing and painting course at the Minerva Academy in Groningen, where he was taught by renowned artists such as Jan Altink and Frisian painter Gerrit Benner. It was during this period that Hendrik Werkman discovered his painting, which encouraged Van den Berg to concentrate further on being an artist.

In 1939, Van den Berg established his studio in the tea dome in Groningen’s Sterrebos and devoted himself entirely to his art. In 1943, he married Fie, Hendrik Werkman’s daughter. After World War II, he visited Paris and took classes at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. In 1954, he moved to Amsterdam and developed his artistic style from naturalism to impressionism, cubism and eventually constructivism.

Despite his artistic development, Van den Berg’s life was marked by health problems. He suffered from Guillain-Barré syndrome, which put him out of circulation for about a decade from 1966. Despite this, he later resumed his work, which was now even more abstract than before.

Besides paintings, Van den Berg also ventured into sculpture, although he was self-taught in this field. In 1983, he donated the sculpture “Libbensline” (Life Line) to his native village of Tirns, a remarkable gesture that illustrated his commitment to his roots. Humanist Broadcasting made a documentary in 1986 in which Van den Berg discussed his life and work in detail.