Waterschoot Jan

Jan Waterschoot, who sometimes used the pseudonyms Jan Wouters or Jif, was a Belgian artist, born in Antwerp in 1892 and died in Berchem in 1968. He was a graphic artist, etcher, illustrator and comic strip author. During the First World War, he collaborated with the painter Joe English and created postcards published in support of the Secrétariat des lycéens catholiques flamands (SKVH). After the war, he spent several years in Paris before returning to Belgium, where he worked for the publishing house of the Abbey of Averbode (Goede Pers/Altiora), in close collaboration with Jos De Swerts. He illustrated, among others, the Vlaamsche Filmkens and their French counterpart Presto Films. In the 1930s he debuted as a comic strip author in Zonneland-Petits Belges and later also published in newspapers and in Kerkelijk Leven. His realistic graphic style was influenced by French illustrators from before the First World War. He became particularly known for his illustrations in numerous confessional magazines and remained active for more than half a century. (Piron, BT)