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Lot Essay
"Blauw wordt algemeen beschouwd als een beetje filosofische, weinig hartstochtelijke kleur. Blauw in een schilderij is heel belangrijk, geel is een nijdige kleur die me irriteert en die spaarzaam toegepast moet worden."
(Carel Willink in: W. Kramer, Willink, The Hague 1973, p. 112.)
By the time he made Stadsgezicht (1939), Carel Willink had already painted numerous streets and landscapes, but this was the first time he painted an entire city this elaborate, situated in one of his signature wild landscapes. Willink’s work of the 1930s is characterized by the display of the so-called ‘bange jaren ‘30 ('anxious '30's) , a period where life was filled with fear and uncertainties and when the threat of war was very real. Many works feature threatening skies, empty streets and a stark contrast between light and dark. All the works are executed with infallible technique, clearly shown in Stadsgezicht (1934) (Jaffé no. 162) and Straat met standbeeld (1934) (Jaffé no. 157). These city views featuring buildings with classical facades alongside empty streets and squares look like they could have been set in the city that Willink depicts in the present lot. The realization of the coming catastrophe, of approaching thunder storms, is very much visible. Willink’s motivation for the execution of this theme might be linked to the acquaintance with the work of Giorgio de Chirico, whose exhibition Willink visited in Berlin in 1930. The classical-looking facades of the buildings, the sharp shadows and the deserted square of the present lot remind of the famous cityscapes by De Chirico. (H.L.C. Jaffé, Willink, Amsterdam 1986, p. 74)
Even though the painting is filled by architecture which covers most of the canvas, the painting feels empty. There are no living souls to be seen. The city looks like it was suddenly deserted by its former inhabitants. It is in a perfect state, the buildings look new and the streets are clean, there are no ruins like the ones found in other paintings by Willink that date from the late 1930s. But this seemingly perfect city is threatened by the dark skies of the looming war. The classical style of the buildings and the prominent monument in the centre of the work remind of ancient civilizations that were once blooming, but eventually crumbled and disappeared. With this painting, Willink is looking at the present as well as the future. He depicts the fear of many during the period between the two World Wars, of a civilization that is on the brim of falling. The emptiness and quietness leaves the viewer with an uncanny feeling. The painting shows the calm before the storm. The viewer is anxiously awaiting the storm that will inevitably come.
Willink’s works are often characterized as paintings that make their viewer uncomfortable because of the silence, the threat and the anguish that they portray. There are parallels drawn between Willink’s works and that of De Chirico, Salvador Dalí and Max Ernst. The similarity lies in the suggestion of quietness and desertion. However Willink’s work differs from that of surrealists in the way that the world as we see it is depicted, still realistic, but changed somehow. As Willink said: “in een wereld, vreemd en afschuwelijker in haar hooghartige geslotenheid dan de benauwendste angstdroom.” (See: A.C. Willink, De schilderkunst in een kritiek stadium, Amsterdam 1950, p. 42.). To Willink, reality seemed already surreal on its own. In surrealism objects are brought together in a way that is unlikely in the perception of reality. The present lot portrays a city that could very well exist in the real world, but is the product of Willink’s imagination. (H.L.C. Jaffé, Willink, Amsterdam 1986, p. 58.)
(Carel Willink in: W. Kramer, Willink, The Hague 1973, p. 112.)
By the time he made Stadsgezicht (1939), Carel Willink had already painted numerous streets and landscapes, but this was the first time he painted an entire city this elaborate, situated in one of his signature wild landscapes. Willink’s work of the 1930s is characterized by the display of the so-called ‘bange jaren ‘30 ('anxious '30's) , a period where life was filled with fear and uncertainties and when the threat of war was very real. Many works feature threatening skies, empty streets and a stark contrast between light and dark. All the works are executed with infallible technique, clearly shown in Stadsgezicht (1934) (Jaffé no. 162) and Straat met standbeeld (1934) (Jaffé no. 157). These city views featuring buildings with classical facades alongside empty streets and squares look like they could have been set in the city that Willink depicts in the present lot. The realization of the coming catastrophe, of approaching thunder storms, is very much visible. Willink’s motivation for the execution of this theme might be linked to the acquaintance with the work of Giorgio de Chirico, whose exhibition Willink visited in Berlin in 1930. The classical-looking facades of the buildings, the sharp shadows and the deserted square of the present lot remind of the famous cityscapes by De Chirico. (H.L.C. Jaffé, Willink, Amsterdam 1986, p. 74)
Even though the painting is filled by architecture which covers most of the canvas, the painting feels empty. There are no living souls to be seen. The city looks like it was suddenly deserted by its former inhabitants. It is in a perfect state, the buildings look new and the streets are clean, there are no ruins like the ones found in other paintings by Willink that date from the late 1930s. But this seemingly perfect city is threatened by the dark skies of the looming war. The classical style of the buildings and the prominent monument in the centre of the work remind of ancient civilizations that were once blooming, but eventually crumbled and disappeared. With this painting, Willink is looking at the present as well as the future. He depicts the fear of many during the period between the two World Wars, of a civilization that is on the brim of falling. The emptiness and quietness leaves the viewer with an uncanny feeling. The painting shows the calm before the storm. The viewer is anxiously awaiting the storm that will inevitably come.
Willink’s works are often characterized as paintings that make their viewer uncomfortable because of the silence, the threat and the anguish that they portray. There are parallels drawn between Willink’s works and that of De Chirico, Salvador Dalí and Max Ernst. The similarity lies in the suggestion of quietness and desertion. However Willink’s work differs from that of surrealists in the way that the world as we see it is depicted, still realistic, but changed somehow. As Willink said: “in een wereld, vreemd en afschuwelijker in haar hooghartige geslotenheid dan de benauwendste angstdroom.” (See: A.C. Willink, De schilderkunst in een kritiek stadium, Amsterdam 1950, p. 42.). To Willink, reality seemed already surreal on its own. In surrealism objects are brought together in a way that is unlikely in the perception of reality. The present lot portrays a city that could very well exist in the real world, but is the product of Willink’s imagination. (H.L.C. Jaffé, Willink, Amsterdam 1986, p. 58.)