Signed 'Pyke Koch' (lower right on original frame)

77 x 59 cm.

Gift𝄹 from t🌳he artist to the family of the present owner; 


Thence by descent.


Rotterdam, Museum Boymans, Kersttentoonstelling, 23 December 1932 - 17 January 1933, no. 35;


Utrecht, Vereniging Voor de Kunst, Kinderportretten, 8 - 30 December 1934;
Karlsruhe, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe Orangerie, Niederländische Kunst der Gegenwart, 18 July - 2 August 1942, no. 77;


Hagen, Karl Ernst Osthaus Museum, Niederländische Kunst der Gegenwart, 13 December 1942 - 16 February 1943; 


Arnhem, Gemeentemuseum, Portrettisten, Nederlandse kunstenaars van nu, 22 March - 14 June 1959, no. 55;


Belfast / Dublin / Cork, Contemporary Dutch Art, Ulster Museum (20 November 1962 - 17 January 1963);
Municipal Gallery of Modern, (24 January - 20 February 1🎃963);

Crawford Municipal Gallery (28 February - 13 March 1963, n♊o. 36);


Amersfoort, Zonnefort, De maaltijd der vrienden, 13 July - 29 September 1963;


Zeist, Het Slot, De Grote Magisch Realisten, 28 June - 21 July 1991;


Rotterdam, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Pyke Koch. Schilderijen en Tekeningen, 26 February - 14 May 1995, no. 17;


Lausanne, Musée cantonal des Beaux Arts, Pyke Koch. Realisme magique aux Pays-Bas, 18 June - 27 August 1995, no. 13.


Jan Engelman, 'Nieuwe schilderkunst in Holland', in: De Vrije Bladen, Amsterdam, 1933, p. 4; Jan Engelman, De Gemeenschap, Bilthoven, 1935, pp. 875–876;

Albert Plasschaert, 'Pyke Koch', in: Verf en kunst, 1936, p. 10;


Albert Plasschaert, 'Pyke Koch', in: Verf en kunst, 1937, pp. 7-9; 


S.P. Abas, 'Schilders van een andere werkelijkheid, Pyke Koch, Carel Willink', in: De Vrije Bladen, The Hague, vol. 14, no. 10, 1937, pp. 15, 22;

Bosman, 'Pyke Koch', in: Op de hoogte, Amsterdam, Vol. 35, no. 11, Novembe✨r 1938, p. 330; 


Bosman, 'Pyke Koch', in: Morks-Magazijn, Dordrecht, Vol. 4♔2, no. 10, 1940, pp. 481 - 483; 


Kasper Niehaus, Levende Nederlandsche kunst, Amsterdam, 1940, pp. 88–89;

Jan Engelman, Pyke Koch, Amsterdam, 1941, pp. 21-22, 29; Dirk Hannema, 'Een nieuwe schepping van Pyke Koch' in: De Schouw, Vol. 1, 1942, p. 4; 


M. van Lokhorst, ‘Nederlandsche Kunst te Karlsruhe’, in: De Schouw, 1 (1942), pp. 422-423;

P. Aretino, Ontaarde Kunst, 's Gravelande, 1945, pp. 33–34; Wouter Kotte, 'De werkelijkheid herontdekt' in: Streven, Brussel, Vol. 14, 1961, p. 961.


Carel Blotkamp, Pyke Koch, Amsterdam, 1972, p. 82;
To be published in: Mieke Rijnders, Pyke Koch, Zwolle, 2026.

Portrait of Peter Mees is a v💞ery rare and highly significant painting within Pyke Koch’s oeuvre. Executed in 1932, the work was the sole work he completed that year. Koch, one of the most important Dutch artists from the interbellum, was admired, not only for his ambiguous subjects but also for his technique. Clearly visible in the present painting is his attention for material expression and detailing and the way he build up the painting layer upon layer showing his deep admiration for the Old Masters.

Pyke Koch caught the eye of the director of the museum Boymans Van Beuningen Dirk Hannema in 1♛931 when he exhibited his painting ‘The shooting gallery’ at the Rotterdam Art Circle in 1931, and Hannema immediately wanted to obtain the work. To fund the substantial purchase he turned to five wealthy Rotterdam citizens, including the banker Jacob Mees. The acquisition resulted in a lasting friendship between Koch and the Mees family. In 1932 Koch was asked to paint his young son Peter and seven years later the portrait of father Jacob Mees (currenlty in the collection of the Boijmans Van Beuningen museum, Rotterdam, inv.nr. BRL 2007-02). As such, it occupies a pivotal place in his artistic development, marking both a shift in subject matter and a subtle yet profound evolution in his painterly approach. It has been suggested Peter Mees is depicted in the families summer residence in Zeeland.

In many ways, Portrait of Peter Mees departs from the visual language Koch had established in his earlier work. While the painting retains the carefully staged composition and the sense of theatrical arrangement typical of Koch’s style, it introduces a softer, more atmospheric treatment of light and color. Where his earlier works often employed a deliberately artificial, almost decorative light, this portrait embraces a more naturalistic tonality. The modeling of the figure is richer and more plastic, creating a convincing sense of volume and anchoring the sitter within a believable, though still stylized, space. This marks 🐷the beginning of Koch’s move away from the strict frontal arrangements of his early paintings toward a more nuanced, spatially integrated pictorial world.

The creation of Portrait of Peter Mees coincided with a broader ܫtransitional phase in Koch’s career. After 1931, his work became notably less programmatic and more episodic. He no longer focused on tightly knit thematic series, but instead allowed himself greater freedom to explore a variety of subjects such as portraits, still life's, scenes of urban life, and theatrical designs. This diversification, however, was accompanied by a certain irregularity in production. Burdened at times by psychological strain, personal upheavals, and bouts of ill health, Koch’s output slowed considerably during the 1930s. Many works remained unfinished, and true highlights became rarer and more isolated within his overall production.

Against this backdrop, Portrait of Peter Mees stands out all the more as a rare, complete, and polished work. It reveals an artಞist who, despite internal struggles, was capable of extraordinary technical control and emotional depth. The pa💜inting not only captures the likeness of Peter Mees but also conveys a subtle psychological presence, an introspective quality that hints at the quiet intensity that would become increasingly important in Koch’s later portraits.

Moreover, th🦩is painting is significant for the way it foreshadows key elements of Koch’s mature style. The measured balance between realism and idealization, the sense of underlying stillness, and the quietly heightened sense of atmosphere would all come to characterize his finest achievements in the decades that followed. 

* The present painting has kindly been requested to be part of the exhibition Charley Toorop & Pyke Koch c𓃲urrently being prepared by Museum More in Gorssel from 21 June-25 October 2026. In will also be included in the accompanying exhibition catalogue.