Josua de Jong

The work of Josua de Jong, a painter born and raised in Amsterdam, appears rather “ordinary.” The subjects he paints—landscapes, cityscapes, interiors, etc.—are all classic, and therefore recognizable to everyone. The power of his work, therefore, lies not in the idea itself, but in Josua’s ability to capture the essence of the subject on the canvas with precise brushstrokes.

If a painting doesn’t come together right away, he doesn’t keep working on it; instead, he radically repaints it to achieve the greatest possible immediacy. He sees what we see—what is beautiful in a cityscape or landscape—but knows how to convey this on the canvas in a way that is explicit and accessible to everyone.

His use of color is restrained. The blue, red, and yellow pigments are almost always mixed with earth tones and/or primary colors and applied wet-on-wet to the canvas.

It is this “Dutch” use of color and this Expressionist style that give Josua’s work its distinctive character.