Tjaarke Maas

At age 26, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. A few years later, Maas found refuge in the forests surrounding the Hermit Monastery of St. Francis of Assisi (Eremo del Carcere) to continue her work on icons as commissioned by the priest Don Gino. She died of a fall from one of the slopes of Monte Subasio, where she was found on 8 July 2004 at age 30. In a small cave, where Maas dwelt, her work on the unfinished icon was found — it was an icon of the Transfiguration. Cimitero Evangelico degli Allori ("The Evangelical Cemetery of Laurels", Florence.) is the final resting place for Tjaarke Maas.

"Henny's teeth" Goldfaced series, egg tempera, gold leaf on wood),sm24.7x20, 2003,

"Silver tea-pot" 2003, mixed media on wood, sm. 40,5X35

After 1996 she lived in Florence, Italy, where she was accepted into the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze. She graduated from in 2003 with diploma cum laude and continued to paint intensively and to work on icons. She combined writing about icons with studying the theology of the image — these forms the basis of her personal spiritual pursuit. At the same time, she also wrote poetry, prose and fairy-tales for children. She produced more than 500 artwork, consisting of paintings, etchings, drawings and sketches.

Tjaarke Hendrika Maria Maas (26 October 1974 – 26 June 2004) was a Dutch painter, whose work had started to be discovered in late 1990s, attracting attention of the general public and the critics. Her artwork had been exhibited in New York City, Jersey City, New Jersey (NJ), Florence (Italy) Moscow (Russia) and St. Petersburg (Russia).

"Ode to 1930th" (fish composition with glass) oil on canvas sm.40X30