Jan Toorop (1858-1928)

THURSDAY, 10 DECEMBER 1992 AFTERNOON SESSION, AT 2.00 P.M. PRECISELY (Lots 169-405) THE JOHAN POLAK COLLECTION Aesthete and ascetic, the late Dr. Johan B.W. Polak (1928-1992) was a distinguished classical scholar and above all an immensely discerning and demanding publisher of literary works. He has been a pivotal figure in Amsterdam's cultural life from the early sixties. He was intensely moved by literature, especially poetry which he considered to be truly outstanding and since he was in a position to waive all financial considerations, he subsidized the publication of his own impeccable editions of ancient and modern classics, simply because he felt that this was a necessity. It is not easy to categorize Polak's tastes, because he not only approached the paragons of controlled equilibrium like Horace or Virgil with characteristic modesty but he also savoured the adventurous extravaganza of Petronius or Baudelaire. His scrupulously produced editions not only included a collection of Dutch classics, like the works of Louis Couperus, J.C. Bloem, P.C. Boutens and J.H. Leopold, but also writings of his contemporaries like Harry Mulisch and Gerard Reve. On a broader European level, he edited and published translations of the works of Gombrowicz, Kavafis and Yourcenar. He maintained close ties of friendship with the latter. The American author James Purdy claims his name as a profound writer was established in Amsterdam before it became renowed in New York, thanks to Polak's exemplary translations of his work. His library was legendary. He made it a hard and fast rule that his books be handled with gloves and preferred that only duplicate copies of them be read. Unfortunately, his immaculate standards often precluded the inclusion of signatures and signed dedications by the authors. Johan Polak was large in stature in more ways than one. Towards the end of his life, his face which radiated a certain reassuring sadness, was well known through his numerous television appearances and interviews, largely as a result of the success of his recently published and much acclaimed work, "Bloom of Decadence". Polak, knighted by the Queen in 1978, was awarded an honourary doctorate by the University of Amsterdam in 1988 and was posthumously awarded the prestigious Silver Carnation Award by H.R.H. Prince Bernhard of The Netherlands, for his achievements. His taste in collecting paintings was as outspoken and outstanding as his literary preferences. Although he had little patience for abstract works and preferred sensitive cabinet pieces, he encouraged aspiring artists, many of whom were his personal friends. The sale will confine itself to the most eminent part of his collection of paintings, consisting of works by Dutch artists from the late nineteenth century to the outbreak of the last war, thus in a way reflecting his literary preferences. The Amsterdam and Hague Schools are eminently represented by the works of Willlem Witsen and Jacob Maris as are Dutch masters of this century, in the suggestively refined realism in the paintings of Floris Verster, Dick Ket and Jan Mankes which are the most prominent, with Herman Kruyder's brooding personal symbolism.

Details

Jan Toorop (1858-1928)

Oranje zon

signed, dated and indistinctly inscribed with title lower right J. Th. Toorop Oranje zon 1908, pencil and coloured crayons on paper
11.5 x 15.5 cm

Literature

To be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné on the artist's work being prepared by G.W.C. van Wezel

Lot Essay

To be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné on the artist's work being prepared by G.W.C. van Wezel

Oranjezon is a farmstead near Oostkapelle on the isle of Walcheren which is known to have belonged to the Dutch Royal Family. It still exists and its name is also used for the extensive dune landscape and beach nearby, in which the present lot was no doubt executed.

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