Lot Essay
The present collection consists of letters and postcards all addressed to the same couple in Eindhoven, good friends of Jan Sluijters. One letter, dated 18 February 1952, is of particular interest since it reflects the opinion of the artist on his own work. Sluijters writes about his exhibition at the Van Abbe Museum in Eindhoven. He feels misunderstood and disappointed by some newspaper reviews in which his work is severely criticized.
He complains about the narrow-mindedness with which the art critics reject paintings such as Maternité, generally considered one of his best works and even "the very best work in the opinion of Sandberg of the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, who has bought it for a considerable sum of money". Nevertheless, the negative reviews do not stop him from "working very hard [...], and hoping to be more understood by future generations", as he writes at the end of the letter.
He complains about the narrow-mindedness with which the art critics reject paintings such as Maternité, generally considered one of his best works and even "the very best work in the opinion of Sandberg of the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, who has bought it for a considerable sum of money". Nevertheless, the negative reviews do not stop him from "working very hard [...], and hoping to be more understood by future generations", as he writes at the end of the letter.