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Lot Essay
Carel Willink returned to Amsterdam in 1924 after several years in Berlin and Paris where he was in close contact with the avant-garde. After his second wife, Wilma Jeuken (1905-1960), had given him Max Doerner's (1870-1939) manual of painting materials and techniques called 'The Materials of the Artist and Their Use in Painting: With Notes on the Techniques of the Old Masters' in 1924, his style, formerly based on constructivism, slowly started to change. He began to develop the realistic precision that was to become his trademark. Willink had the desire to produce works that 'were technically so very much finished, that they could last for a long time' (see: Jaffé, p. 52). He returned to figuration and left abstract art behind him. Willink called his paintings: 'the only real thing amongst all uncertainties'. His search for a new technique was his way to create something of lasting and continuing significance in a time where all other things remained uncertain. After a journey to Italy and Berlin in 1931, during which he had visited an exhibition of Giorgio de Chirico (1888-1978), he moved in a different direction regarding his subject matters. The ominous atmosphere in the work of De Chirico, where time seemed to have stood still, must have made a great impression on him.
This particular painting was made by Willink in 1934. During the early 1930's he painted several of his most important works. This present work shows a deserted street and a distant square with an equestrian statue and two pleople strolling, strangers to each other. The buildings, with classical facades, throw their shadow on the empty street and lonely square. A very dark and ominous clouded sky is depicted. Willink made several paintings including:'Jobstijding' (1932), 'Het Gele Huis' (1934), and the current work, in which the late 19th century architecture of Amsterdam played a prominent role. The buildings can often be immediately identified as existing buildings. The present lot can be found at the end of the 'Spiegelstraat', at the corner with the Herengracht. However, we should not attribute a special meaning to this location as it only serves as the backdrop to tell his story. One of the most notable aspects in the painting is the open door at the left. When the work was first exhibited in 1934 its title was 'Straat met de geopende deuren', which later changed to 'Straat met (ruiter)standbeeld'. The door evokes a feeling of mystery. The two pedestrians on the square only further increase the feeling of abandonment. The equestrian statue is a nearly literal translation of Jacques-Louis David's (1748-1825) famous painting of Napoleon (Collection Malmaison, France). This reference to Napoleon adds an almost apocalyptical implication to the work. 'Straat met standbeeld' is a highlight in Willink's oeuvre in which all the elements that make his work so intriguing come together. It is an ultimate example of Dutch interpretation of the international metaphysical painting in the interbellum.
This particular painting was made by Willink in 1934. During the early 1930's he painted several of his most important works. This present work shows a deserted street and a distant square with an equestrian statue and two pleople strolling, strangers to each other. The buildings, with classical facades, throw their shadow on the empty street and lonely square. A very dark and ominous clouded sky is depicted. Willink made several paintings including:'Jobstijding' (1932), 'Het Gele Huis' (1934), and the current work, in which the late 19th century architecture of Amsterdam played a prominent role. The buildings can often be immediately identified as existing buildings. The present lot can be found at the end of the 'Spiegelstraat', at the corner with the Herengracht. However, we should not attribute a special meaning to this location as it only serves as the backdrop to tell his story. One of the most notable aspects in the painting is the open door at the left. When the work was first exhibited in 1934 its title was 'Straat met de geopende deuren', which later changed to 'Straat met (ruiter)standbeeld'. The door evokes a feeling of mystery. The two pedestrians on the square only further increase the feeling of abandonment. The equestrian statue is a nearly literal translation of Jacques-Louis David's (1748-1825) famous painting of Napoleon (Collection Malmaison, France). This reference to Napoleon adds an almost apocalyptical implication to the work. 'Straat met standbeeld' is a highlight in Willink's oeuvre in which all the elements that make his work so intriguing come together. It is an ultimate example of Dutch interpretation of the international metaphysical painting in the interbellum.