Hans Rookmaaker - Career

Career

Rookmaaker stood in the tradition of Neo-Calvinism, developed in the late 19th century. The essential feature of this philosophy is the treatment of all of life as God's creation. There is no neutrality, while secularism is just another religion. Rookmaaker ventured to apply this basic viewpoint to culture. With his expert ear of black music, multi-cultural roots and after a profound change of direction, he devoted his PhD to the ideas of Paul Gauguin and how they influenced his paintings. He also was an art critic for the Dutch Christian newspaper Trouw. He edited a 12-part Fontana Records series of black music, wrote a book on this subject and developed a Christian approach to art in a book aiming at a wide audience. On the political level he wrote about art and culture for the magazine of the Reformed party. By the mid '60's he was invited to start the department of art history at the Free University. His broad international perspective brought a large number of foreign students to the department at a time when this was still far from usual.

From 1955 onwards he frequently visited his friend Francis Schaeffer to lecture at the Swiss l’Abri community in Huémoz. He took Schaeffer on a tour to address Dutch audiences and started l'Abri meetings for university students in his Amsterdam home. He visited North America where he met his hero Mahalia Jackson. More and more Rookmaaker focused his career on motivating Christian believers to take culture seriously and live a life that integrates conviction and deeds. Traces of his influence are still to be found in many places, while the present awakening of Evangelicals to the arts proves Rookmaaker's prophetic stand. Rookmaaker died suddenly on a Sunday in March 1977.