De Ram

Details

Piet Ouborg (DUTCH, 1893-1956)
De Ram
signed and dated 'P.Ouborg/'34' (lower right)
oil on canvas
65 x 80.5 cm.

Provenance

Johannes and Cricri Tielrooy, thence by descent to the present owner.
On loan to the Dordrechts Museum, Dordrecht, from 1985 until 2007.

Literature

L. ten Duis a.o., Piet Ouborg, schilder, Eindhoven 1990, no. 49, p. 46 (ill.), p. 44, p. 107
Ineke Voorsteegh, Piet Ouborg, Heimwee naar het hart der dingen,
1993, p. 11 (ill.).

Exhibited

The Hague, Haags Gemeentemuseum, Piet Ouborg, 12 August-4 October 1953, no. 29 (ill.).
Eindhoven, Stedelijk van Abbe-museum, Piet Ouborg, 15 May-20 June 1965, no. 17.
Breda, De Beyerd, Piet Ouborg, 26 June-25 July 1965, no. 17.
Enschede, Rijksmuseum Twente, 1990
Dordrecht, Dordrechts Museum, Piet Ouborg, 24 October 1993- January 1994.

Special notice

Christie’s charges a premium to the buyer on the Hammer Price of each lot sold at the following rates: 29.75% of the Hammer Price of each lot up to and including €5,000, plus 23.8% of the Hammer Price between €5,001 and €400,000, plus 14.28% of any amount in excess of €400,001. Buyer’s premium is calculated on the basis of each lot individually.

Lot Essay

This work is one of the highlights of Dutch Surrealism. As Ten Duis states "Ram is an intriguing painting, never before in Ouborg's work was there such emphatic and unconcealed symbolism (...). Consequently, the Ram phallically pierced in a ground full of languid desires, points to potency and life-giving forces, but at the same time is reminiscent of a sacrificial beast (...) " (op cit. p. 45)
Dreams are translated in Ouborg's own visionary language.

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