De rustende slaapwandelaarster IV - The resting sleepwalker IV

The resting sleepwalker is an important theme in the oeuvre of Pyke Koch. He executed four versions of this subject since 1959. Koch's oeuvre can be seen as a series of masquerades, metaphores, metamorphoses and mystifications, strongly influenced by painters like Henri Rousseau and Paul Delvaux. Ambiguity is, as so often in his work, manifest in the present lot. The objects scattered around the dreaming girl do, at first sight, not relate to eachother or to the girl. Apparently Koch created the mysterious world of moments of strong consciouness, like dreaming or near awakening. The radar tower, the only object not present in the 1959 version, for instance, could in this context symbolize the consciousness, picking up signals in the dark, not using the normal senses. In short, a unilateral interpretation does not seem applicable to the painting, an opinion Koch himself underlined when talking about his work. A second look at the objects around the girl though shows an undeniable erotical connotation, also a theme strongly manifest in the oeuvre of Koch. In a Freudian way he investigates his own psyche, in this case his problematic feelings towards women: the candle, pin-cushion, worm and sewing machine all seem to point in this direction. More specific, the girl's fruitless efforts to light the candle may indicate a physical ore psychological impotence on the artist's part. Again it must be emphasized, that it was Koch's intention to mystify the contents of his subjects.The father of the present owner had several paintings by the artist, among them 'La Belle Epoque II', from 1932 (oeuvre cat. no.18) As this painting needed to be restored, the owner contacted Koch who wanted to exchange the painting for a new work. The owner, visiting Koch's studio was interested in one of the paintings of "De rustende Slaapwandelaarster" on Koch's wall. The painter did not have the intention to sell this version and together they decided he would paint a new slightly smaller version. When Koch together with Carel Blotkamp visited the opening of the exhibition in Kortenhoef in 1987 he saw "De Rustende Slaapwandelaarster IV" and exclaimed that of all versions this was the most beautiful one. (For more information on the subject "De Rustende Slaapwandelaarster" see: C. Blotkamp, "Rustende Slaapwandelaarster, omstreeks 1965" in Vereniging Rembrandt tot behoud en vermeerdering van Kunstschatten in Nederland, 1973, p. 31-36).

See colour illustration