Still life with flowers, ginger jar and fruits, 1996

Jelle Otter (1925-2012) was a painter of stories, landscapes, harbours and everyday life.

Drawing and painting from his childhood, Otter starts as an independent artist right after art school. He develops his own cubist-expressionist style and continues to develop it throughout his life.

Two common threads can be identified in Otter’s oeuvre. The first has to do with his interest in everyday reality. This results in works with themes close to home: still lifes, interiors and portraits. But his cityscapes, harbours and landscapes also result from a similar interest in everyday life.

The second common thread is formed by Otter’s interest in stories. In this, the Bible is one of the main sources of inspiration.

In addition to being an artist, Otter was a restorer and connoisseur of pre-Reformation church paintings, particularly in the north and east of our country. Highlight of that work is the restoration of the paintings in the Grote Kerk in Harderwijk.

Education: Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague and Arnhem