Lucebert

Lucebert, the professional name of Lubertus Jacobus Swaanswijk, was a Dutch painter and poet born in Amsterdam in 1924 and who died in Alkmaar in 1994. He belonged to the CoBrA group, and his name is tied to the renewal of postwar poetry and art in the Netherlands. Although he first became known for his poems, his visual work is one of the most distinctive contributions to mid-century European avant-garde art.

He drew and painted from childhood, and in 1938 he entered the Amsterdam School of Arts and Crafts on a scholarship. In 1949 he joined the Dutch Experimental Group, which included Corneille, Constant and Appel, and soon after took part in founding CoBrA in Paris. His early work shows the influence of Picasso, Arp and Miró. At the end of the 1940s he began drawing and painting mythical beings with free, poetic play of line and colour.

Around 1960 his language moved closer to the mythical imagery of CoBrA, with figures that recall children's drawings and the work of the mentally ill. During the 1960s his lines became harder and more aggressive, and he portrayed people ruled by passions, fears and obsessions. His work was shown at Documenta in Kassel, at the First Paris Biennale, where he won a prize, and in Venice. In 1961 the Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven gave him a major retrospective.

From 1963 he explored the Alicante coast, and in 1970 he built a house and studio in Benitatxell. He spent long periods there, focused on his work and living in relative isolation. His closest contact was with the Spanish artist Antonio Saura, who regarded him as his northern soulmate.

His legacy also reaches Spain. His widow donated works to the Antonio Pérez Foundation in Cuenca, which has a room devoted to him. As a poet, his line "Alles van waarde is weerloos" has been displayed on buildings in Rotterdam, a sign of an influence that extends beyond art.