Jan van Ravenswaay

Jan van Ravenswaay, Hilversum, 1789 - 1869

Van Ravenswaay is the first artist who settled himself in Zweeloo. Originating from Hilversum, well known as a “Gooise” cattle painter, he married, in 1840, a woman, who lived with her grandparents in Zweeloo. His “fair” in Zweeloo from 1845 gives a unique view of the famous Zweeloo market and shows also where Ravenswaay earned a living with during his time in Drenthe: drawings of the landscape of Drenthe and way of life of its people. The litho’s of these drawings were, amongst others, also published in the Drentse folk-almanac. However, because in Drenthe there was no market for art at all, he moved again, in 1848, to the West of the country.