Willem van Hasselt

Dutch painter Willem van Hasselt studied at the Royal Academy in Rotterdam. He then traveled to London and Paris with extensive studies of the great masters in museums. He became a French citizen in 1933, after his Bordeaux marriage to illustrator and painter Louise le Vavasseur (1891-1974), daughter of a wealthy wine merchant. Van Hasselt then found his inspiration in the Bassin d’Arcachon (at his parents-in-law) and along the banks of the Seine.

Van Hasselt was highly interested in sports, especially in soccer (Sparta Rotterdam) and rugby. In his youth he earned his living with advertisements and drawings for newspapers, and painting theater costumes. He later worked in post-impressionism. From 1957 he spent his last years in Nogent-sur-Marne.