The Twente Landscape by Ton Schulten
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.
| Directions | Distance | Total distance | |
|
Start: Dusinksweg , 7636 PE Agelo | 25.2 KM | |
|
From
43
to
69
|
1728 M | 1.7 KM | |
| Head southwest | 37 M | ||
| Turn right | 20 M | ||
| Make a slight right | 8 M | ||
| Turn left onto Timmusweg | 186 M | ||
| Turn left to stay on Timmusweg | 301 M | ||
| Turn right onto Berend Vinckenstraat | 162 M | ||
| Turn left | 131 M | ||
| Turn right | 244 M | ||
| Turn right onto Wildehof | 15 M | ||
| Turn left | 143 M | ||
| Turn left onto Odemarusstraat | 17 M | ||
| Turn left onto Profietstraat | 135 M | ||
| Turn left onto Smithuisstraat | 79 M | ||
| Turn right onto Radboudstraat | 171 M | ||
| Turn right onto Kerkplein | 18 M | ||
| Turn left to stay on Kerkplein | 61 M | ||
| You are now at section 69 | 0 M | ||
|
From
69
to
35
|
2599 M | 2.6 KM | |
| Head northeast on Gasthuisstraat | 15 M | ||
| Turn left onto Markt | 13 M | ||
| Turn right onto Marktstraat | 88 M | ||
| Turn right onto Oostwal | 110 M | ||
| Turn left onto Cellenkampstraat | 207 M | ||
| Turn left onto Odemarusstraat | 81 M | ||
| Turn left onto Denekamperstraat | 129 M | ||
| Turn right onto Moerbekkenkamp | 67 M | ||
| Continue straight onto Moerbekkenkamp | 149 M | ||
| Continue straight onto Moerbekkenkamp | 211 M | ||
| Turn left | 59 M | ||
| Make a slight left onto Nutterseweg | 458 M | ||
| Make a slight right onto Wittebergweg | 361 M | ||
| Turn right onto Spölmanweg | 651 M | ||
| You are now at section 35 | 0 M | ||
|
From
35
to
30
|
1726 M | 1.7 KM | |
| Head northeast on Laagsestraat | 315 M | ||
| Turn left onto Uelserdijk | 1.4 KM | ||
| You are now at section 30 | 0 M | ||
|
From
30
to
34
|
798 M | 0.8 KM | |
| Head north on Uelserdijk | 54 M | ||
| Turn left onto Mosbeekweg | 744 M | ||
| You are now at section 34 | 0 M | ||
|
From
34
to
33
|
3285 M | 3.3 KM | |
| Head south on Blauweweg | 1.4 KM | ||
| Make a sharp right onto Wittebergweg | 1.9 KM | ||
| You are now at section 33 | 0 M | ||
|
From
33
to
37
|
3147 M | 3.1 KM | |
| Head south on Wittebergweg | 92 M | ||
| Make a slight right onto Nutterseweg | 300 M | ||
| Turn left onto Helweg | 508 M | ||
| Turn right onto Vasserweg | 65 M | ||
| Turn left onto Polweg | 157 M | ||
| Turn right onto Polweg | 299 M | ||
| Make a slight left onto Onzoelweg | 1.7 KM | ||
| You are now at section 37 | 0 M | ||
|
From
37
to
29
|
1971 M | 2 KM | |
| Head southeast on Lädderken | 1.6 KM | ||
| Turn left onto Tubbergerdijk | 45 M | ||
| Make a slight left onto Binnenes | 9 M | ||
| Keep left onto Binnenes | 302 M | ||
| You are now at section 29 | 0 M | ||
|
From
29
to
72
|
1458 M | 1.5 KM | |
| Head south on Tichelwerk | 606 M | ||
| Turn right | 247 M | ||
| Continue onto Almelosestraat | 123 M | ||
| Turn left to stay on Almelosestraat | 482 M | ||
| You are now at section 72 | 0 M | ||
|
From
72
to
71
|
1291 M | 1.3 KM | |
| Head west on Hezebergweg | 323 M | ||
| Turn left onto Oppersveldweg | 116 M | ||
| Make a slight right to stay on Oppersveldweg | 852 M | ||
| You are now at section 71 | 0 M | ||
|
From
71
to
42
|
2081 M | 2.1 KM | |
| Head east on Zonnenbergweg | 292 M | ||
| Turn right onto Smitsweg | 1.8 KM | ||
| You are now at section 42 | 0 M | ||
|
From
42
to
38
|
1551 M | 1.6 KM | |
| Head east on Voortsweg | 523 M | ||
| Turn left onto Enktermorsweg | 846 M | ||
| Turn left onto Borgstadweg | 182 M | ||
| You are now at section 38 | 0 M | ||
|
From
38
to
43
|
3561 M | 3.6 KM | |
| Head north on Weerselosestraat | 182 M | ||
| Turn right onto Kipboomweg | 1.2 KM | ||
| Turn right onto Rossumerstraat | 18 M | ||
| Turn left | 7 M | ||
| Continue onto Steenmatenweg | 2.2 KM | ||
| You are now at section 43 | 0 M |