Cornelis Theodorus Maria (Kees) van Dongen (1877 Delfshaven - 1968 Monte Carlo) is shown painting here. He spent his youth at Delfshaven. His talent for drawing was discovered at an early age but there was no money to let him study. As from his fourteenth he had to earn his own living. He did take evening classes at the Rotterdam ’Academy of Fine Arts and Technical Sciences" from 1892 till 1897, but he did not like them. In 1897 he left for Paris, where he made a living as a house painter and as an illustrator for satirical magazines. In 1901 he married Juliana Augusta Preitinger, who he knew from the Rotterdam Academy. In 1906 the young family moved to the "Bateau-Lavoir" where they were aquainted with the inner circle of Pablo Picasso and his girlfriend Fernande Olivier. In 1921 Van Dongen en Juliana divorced. Van Dongen did not lack recognition: In 1926 he was awarded the French Legion d’Honneur and in 1927 the Belgian Order of the Crown.

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Hier schildert Cornelis Theodorus Maria (Kees) van Dongen (Delfshaven 1877, Monte Carlo 1968) in zijn eigen geboorteplaats. Hij vertrok naar Parijs en leerde daar de vriendenkring rond Pablo Picasso kennen. Van Dongen heeft veel maatschappelijke waardering gekregen: in 1926 het Franse Légion d’Honneur en in 1927 de Belgische Kroonorde. In 1929 werd hij Frans staatsburger. De heldere kleuren waarvan hij zich bediende leverde hem en zijn vrienden de bijnaam Les Fauves (Wilde Beesten’) op Van Les Fauves waren Van Dongen Matisse André Derain, Maurice Mayhincken Albert Marquet de leidende figuren.

The plaque depicts the image of the painter born in Delfshaven who was one of the fathers of the movement of Fauvism (the wild movement)

The photo was taken on the same day by the same photographer Click for a larger image

Translation of the text on the sign:
[The translation of the Dutch text, which is slightly different from the English]
Here Cornelis Theodorus Maria (Kees) van Dongen (Delfshaven 1877, Monte Carlo 1968) paints in his own birthplace. He left for Paris and met the circle of friends around Pablo Picasso. Van Dongen has received a lot of social appreciation: in 1926 the French Légion d’Honneur and in 1927 the Belgian Order of the Crown. In 1929 he became a French citizen. The bright colors he used earned him and his friends the nickname Les Fauves (Wild Beasts). Van Dongen Matisse André Derain, Maurice Mayhinck and Abert Marquer were the leading figures of Les Fauves.