Jacob Steinlein

An oil pastel painting of my great grandfather, Jacob Steinlein. His tragic story can be found on my blog, [link]

Here is a summary:
"Jacob Steinlein was German, but a Dutch citizen. During WWII the Dutch imprisoned all of the Germans and shipped them from the location. Jacob was on the Van Imhoff. I’ve researched this a lot, because it was kind of a big cover up, since the Van Imhoff was bombed and sunk, and somehow everyone on the ship survived except for the majority of German prisoners, including my great grandfather. When I was painting this portrait I couldn’t help but think about his horrible death."

I gave this portrait to my grandfather as a wedding anniversary present. He cried when he saw it. I had never seen Opa cry before that. Oma told me that he often stares at the painting and how much he treasures it.