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Johannes (Jan) Battermann (Amsterdam, January 8, 1909 – Amsterdam, January 19, 1999) was a Dutch graphic artist, painter, illustrator, watercolorist and draftsman.[1]
Battermann lived and worked in Amsterdam. He started as a house painter and in 1938, stimulated by his wife Willy van der Graft, he followed various courses at the Quellinus School of Applied Arts (1939-1940), the Rijksnormaalschool (1940-1941) and the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten (1941-1943 and 1946-1950).
At the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam, Karel Appel was one of his fellow students. When Appel became involved in the initiative to found the group around Cobra after the war, he asked Batterman to join in. Battermann refused because he could not accept the condition that Appel set that he would no longer be allowed to work figuratively. In an interview he later said about this: 'I wanted my own freedom, to follow my own path'.
Batterman was taught by Willem van den Berg, Jaap Luttge and Gerard Westermann, among others. He preferred to be a painter, but after Cor de Wolff (1889-1963) inspired him to practice graphic art during an illness, he developed into a much sought-after graphic artist and maker of a considerable number of ex libris.
During his lifetime, his work was regularly exhibited. In 1960, he submitted work for the third edition of the Talensprijs and his work was exhibited at the exhibition 'Nederland schildert' (The Netherlands Paints) in the Waag building.[2] In 1965, his graphic work was part of an exhibition in Curacao [3]. In 1987, he sold five paintings to the municipality of Oostzaan, three of which are monumental works that hang in the council chamber.
He exhibits regularly with artists' associations such as De Brug, Sint Lucas and De Stuwing, in which he is often also active on the board, including several times in the Stedelijk Museum and Museum Fodor.
He was awarded the following prizes: Gouache Competition (1952), Art Prize for Sport from the Cultural Fund (1959), Euro Exlibris Honorary Prize and the Honorary Prize Poland.