Johan Braakensiek
1858–1940 · Dutch painter, illustrator and political caricaturist
Johan Braakensiek (Amsterdam, 1858 – 1940) was a Dutch painter, illustrator and caricaturist, best known for his political cartoons of the late nineteenth century. The son of an illustrator and lithographer, he left school at eleven and worked as a designer in a fashion shop while attending drawing classes. He graduated from the State Academy of Fine Arts in Amsterdam in 1881, where he trained under August Allebé and Barend Wijnveld.
For much of his career he worked as an illustrator for several publishers. His breakthrough came in 1886, when he became the political cartoonist for the magazine De Amsterdammer. He also contributed to Geïllustreerd Politie-Nieuws and, from 1925 to 1931, to De Groene Amsterdammer.
His popularity endures mainly through his illustrations for books such as Van Allerlei Slag and Uit het leven van Dik Trom, and his work appears in a number of Dutch textbooks. He was the grandfather of Jan van Oort. He is buried at Zorgvlied cemetery in Amsterdam.
Teachers and pupils
Studied with
- August Allebé 1838–1927
- Barend Wijnveld 1820–1902