Marc was born of Jewish parents before World War II. They lived in the village of Laren in Het Gooi, Netherlands. During the war the family had to go into hiding; as a 4-year old child, Marc was accommodated by a family without children. He was separated from his own parents, who went into hiding at many different addresses. Marc and his parents, Nap de Klijn and Alice Heksch, survived the war and were reunited after the liberation. The war and anti-Semitism, which he personally experienced strongly after the war, have influenced his life deeply. From 1995 till 2005 he used his painting to process this great human drama.
Marc de Klijn (1939), after finishing his studies at the Gymnasium, studies graphic arts from 1962 – 1966 in Basel at the Allgemeine Gewerbeschule. After a successful propaedeutic period, interrupted by two years of military service (1960 – 1962), he is admitted to the Fachklasse Grafik. Afterwards he returns to the Netherlands and settles in Amsterdam; after a few years of experience in studios of graphic design and with advertising agencies, he becomes a freelance designer. In that period he works, among others, for the Anne Frank Foundation, several publishing companies, PTT, Pomosin, Ballast Nedam, and, during a few years, as the assistant of graphic designer Otto Treumann. He produces progressive designs for Werkgroep 2000, one of his most important employers. As a member of BKR, he starts producing free work, while following a second study of drawing and painting, which he finishes partly in 1978 and completely in 1980.
Academy of Arts Kampen
In 1979 he receives an appointment as an Art teacher at the academy of arts Constantijn Huygens in Kampen, where he teaches graphic design three days a week and also develops his free work seriously. At first he mainly paints landscapes in aquarelle, but the perception gradually changes into a stylized simplified composition, often completely abstract. He also works on still lives, interior, figure studies, architectural pictures of cities and villages.
Shoah
In the years 1995 – 2005 there are numerous paintings in diverse materials dedicated to the Holocaust, rendered in a deeply penetrating way. His autobiographical art book “De doden zullen herrijzen” (2004) was dedicated to the same topic. Besides his life story and his paintings, art work of his wife Henny van Hartingsveldt, has also been added to this book. Since 1996, after the period at the academy of arts, he turns his attention to Israel. Since 2008, both of them produce several art projects for non-profit organisations in this land. In 2011 a second art book is produced entitled “Shoulder to shoulder”, with aquarelles of De Klijn and photography and poems of his wife.
Many works can be seen with the theme “Holocaust”
Luftmenschen
Lamento
Doodsfabriek
Books
Besides the earlier mentioned books, Marc has other titles to his name. He wrote many articles for magazines and for a long time he was the art editor of the magazine “Bij the Tijd”. As a graphic designer he also worked on many books. Below you find some titles he worked on:
- Weerklank van Anne Frank (1970)
- Christenen doorgelicht (1974)
- De invloed van het Calvinisme op de Noord Nederlandse Landschapschilderkunst (1982)
- Raakvlakken van Kunst en Religie (1987)
- Christelijke literatuur op de tocht (1997)
- De doden zullen herrijzen (2004) ) – in samenwerking met Henny van Hartingsveldt
- Schouder aan Schouder, vindplaatsen in het beloofde Land (2011) – in samenwerking met Henny van Hartingsveldt
- Nieuw licht op oude woorden (2022)
Recent years
In recent years his focus is on big monumental paintings, in which the content relates to prophetic visions, perspectives and all kind of themes with a biblical orientation. Notable are titles such as: “Light in darkness”, “The new earth”, “The city that Abraham saw”, Endtime landscape”. Marc de Klijn exhibits in many places in the Netherlands and also in Belgium, Germany and in Israel, where the couple De Klijn has settled since 2013. The majority of the oeuvre of paintings is in the Netherlands where it is available for exhibitions and for sale. Their life in Israel has inspired them to build up a new collection of art works.
Marc painted four paintings during four concerts of the “Messiah” performed by the “Margaretha Consort” in 2015.
Messiah I
Messiah II
Messiah III
Messiah IV
