David Bueno de Mesquita

As a painter, David Bueno de Mesquita was known for his landscapes and biblical scenes, but he also worked as an illustrator and cover designer, mostly of children’s books. He was first trained as a drawing teacher and then studied at the Academy in Amsterdam. A winner of the Prix de Roma with an Old Testament motif in 1913, Bueno de Mesquita lived there briefly. In 1916 he returned to Amsterdam temporarily. Through a foundation, he established a home for mentally handicapped Jewish children. In the years leading up to the Olympic Games, he created a series of lithographs for the foundation. He eventually settled in Firenze (Italy) in 1929, where he lived until his death. His older brother Henri Jacques (1887-1962) was also a painter.

Bueno de Mesquita’s drawing Coach shows hints of coaching a swimmer in the US. The artist also illustrated a booklet for the opening of the Sportfondsenbad in Amsterdam in 1929. Possibly the Nautical Adventure was a part of it.