Johannes "Johan" Gerardus Diederik van Hell (1889
–1952) was a Dutch visual artist and musician. He was a dedicated socialist and
a man with a highly developed social conscience. Many of his later works depict
the struggles and plight of ‘the man in the street’. In 1925, he decided to
produce lithographs to make art available at a reasonable price to the working
class. He also gave free private art and music lessons to gifted students who
could not afford the tuition.
His art oeuvre is varied, ranging from oil paintings, water
colours, wood cuts and lithographs to political posters, ex-libris and magazine
and book covers and illustrations. He also received regular commissions from
the City of Amsterdam for monumental art. His music was at least as important
to him as his art. His instrument was the clarinet but he also played the oboe.
He regularly performed with Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw Orchestra but refused a
permanent position. In his last years his music took precedence over his art.
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