Ootmarsum, Groot Agelo

‘Is this Ootmarsum or Jerusalem’, Twente poet Willem Wilmink wondered at the sight of Ton Schulten's radiant works of art, comparing the painter's extremely colourful paintings to “the promised land”. Fields, fields and the sky itself turn into colourful planes in his work in which trees, houses and country roads figure harmoniously and together form a hushed, dreamy and peaceful whole.

On the way through the Ootmarsum area, halfway up the Kuiperberg, a wooded bank of trees and low bushes just obstructs the view of a winding road between the blue-coloured hills in the distance. As you cycle on, it reappears. This is the typical coulisse landscape that has given Schulten endless inspiration for his colourful paintings since 1992. Behind every image, every view, a new scene looms again, making the landscape itself seem to be constructed as a stage with the trees, streams, winding roads, farms and rolling ash trees as natural backdrops.

Schulten's distinctive, expressive painting style has come to be called consensualism. It is named after the Latin ‘consensus’ meaning, among other things, ‘harmony, agreement and unity’. According to writer Hartmut Rau, Schulten makes his artworks a ‘quest for inner and outer harmony’ and paints ‘mythical and ideal worlds with an extraordinary intensity of light.

As a boy, baker's son Ton was already fascinated by art and nature around his hometown of Ootmarsum. After studying at the Academy of Art and Industry in Enschede, he initially entered the world of advertising and started a very successful advertising agency himself, which he also sold when he turned 50. When he and his wife Ank, together with a friend, were involved in a very serious car accident in 1991, their lives changed enormously. The friend dies, and both Ton and Ank lie in a coma for days. The painter then has an overwhelming near-death experience and sees unimaginable colours and light. Once home, he goes in search of those almost ‘heavenly colours’ with paints and brushes, mostly at night, and has been trying to shape a harmonious image full of peace and happiness ever since.

Schulten grew into a very successful artist and Ootmarsum into a true artists' village where you can find many galleries, including gallery Chez-Moi with works by Schulten himself. In 2024, the painter turned 86 years old. He then still lives and works every day in the new residence behind the Museum Ton Schulten dedicated to him. Once you have looked at and absorbed some of his paintings here, you can no longer ‘just’ cycle through the Twente scenic landscape without seeing those overwhelming colours everywhere.

Photo painting: ©Ton Schulten Ootmarsum



This Premium cycling route was compiled by our editor: Wieger Favier.