Jos Kivits Biography

Painter of magnificent neo-Classic landscapes and sumptuous still life's in the manner of the sixteenth and seventeenth century Dutch and Flemish old masters.

Born in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, September 1945, Jos, (christened, Jozef, Wilhelmus, Henrikus, Cornelis.) was the youngest of five children. He is a descendant of a well established Dutch family, the roots of which can be traced back to the early thirteenth century. His immediate family have been recognized as successful merchants dating back to the early 1800's.

Despite early leanings towards becoming an industrial-chemist, architectural draughts-man, textile merchant, even a brief desire to enter into theology, art was his siren call. Jos could not stay away from it. Having shown an early interest in the subject he took serious lessons from the age of ten and completed his first painting at age 12.

A student at the Dutch "Kunstnijverheid" school in Eindhoven in the 1960's Jos continued his "indepth" studies in the 1970's and 1980's under the tutelage of the renowned living Dutch artist. Cornelis Le Mair. This association led to Jos receiving the highly coveted diploma of "Master Artist - Still Life" from the Academy of Fine Arts, Antwerp, Belgium, in 1989. The collaboration continued with visits by Cornelis Le Mair to the artist's studios in New Zealand and Sydney.

During the 1960's and 70's Jos researched the techniques used and perfected by the Dutch Old Masters. A long forgotten technique originally developed by the Van Eyck brothers in the 15th century, This involves the application of successive oil glaze layers between layers of paint This gives incredible depth to the finished work. An arduous, not to mention hazardous technique, Jos uses this painting style to perfection in many of his still-life's.

During this very time consuming process the Artist, completely repaints a scene four, five or sometimes even six times. It is because of this, that Jos's annual output of his sumptuous detailed still-life's is very limited.

In search of warmer climatic conditions Jos moved from his native country, The Netherlands, to New Zealand in 1973. Then in 1986, along with his wife Lydia and their four children, ( Lissy, Joshua, Yahdah and Samuel,) he moved to Sydney Australia to settle.

A lifetime of training, study, experience and the creation of exquisite masterpieces has earned Jos an enviable international reputation. His work is much sought after and in demand, hanging in public and private collections in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan, North and South America, the United Kingdom, several of the European Countries and South Africa.

The bloom on a grape, a droplet of dew, the sparkle of light on crystal, velvet petals of a rose, the sense of light, shade, depth, reflection, luminosity, colour and age are all there in Jos Kivits's still-life's. Every element is in balance, the attention to detail perfect, realistic, but never photographic, each part appears so solid and real, you want to touch it. There is also symbolism, the elements in his still-life's so often tell a story, hide a mystery, just as the Dutch Old masters did before him."