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拍品專文
True expressionists in the purest sense of the word are a rarity in 20th century Dutch art history. Painter Herman Kruyder is one of the very few exceptions to this rule. Piet Boyens' detailed definition of expressionism in general, on the basis of German expressionism in particular, proves how well Kruyder and his art fit this image:
"The common meaning of expressionism is to a large extent associated with the contributions of the artists of 'Die Brücke' to this movement. Aversion to conventional painting is the unwritten law that binds together the artists of Die Brücke and gives direction to their actions. They proclaim the 'innere Schau', which means that the object will lose its individual value and in stead will become the bearer of the internal tensions and feelings of the artist.(...)
Beauty and external similarity are no longer considerations. The natural image has radically been reduced or distorted, harmony and symmetry give way to the power of lines and to a hazardous, aggressive use of colour. The interaction of contrasts now gives life to the painting.(...) Regarding the iconography, Die Brücke searched for the totality of human existence. Their subjects ranged from love, ecstasy, death, fear, doubt, to loneliness and bitterness. (...) Usually there is question of a disordered existence, of revolt and social indictment." (P. Boyens in: Expressionisme in Nederland 1910-1930, Zwolle 1994. p. 103-104).
It is as if Boyens describes the life and works of Herman Kruyder, in stead of German expressionism. All through his life Kruyder was known to be a hypersensitive person, subject to feelings of anxiety and psychological pressure. Sometimes the pressure became too much for him, which resulted in necessary treatment. His distressing thoughts and anxious feelings were roughly represented in his works, resulting in sometimes aggressive and fierce paintings.
Although Kruyder had surrounded himself with a group of friends and protectors in Haarlem and in his residence Heemstede, in the period 1923 until 1927 he entrenched himself in the solitude of nearby Bennebroek, together with his wife and his dogs. There, becoming even lonelier and more and more eccentric, he retreated to the world of his paintings. Bennebroek is where the most important part of his relatively small oeuvre of paintings came into being, his most expressionistic paintings including museum works like 'De Brief', 'De Varkensdoder', 'De Hondehokken', and also the present lot.
Simplification and abstraction of figures and forms strengthen the expression, the restlessness in the head of the artist, and fields of sharp colours enclosed by firm lines all fight for the attention of the beholder. The works flow over with violent emotions and anxieties, inclining neurosis. The psychological tension and the oppression in the paintings often seem to be ahead of possible dramatic events. Sometimes very clear, like in 'De Varkensdoder', but just as often it is less clear, like in 'De Brief' or in the present lot. It is as if the artist foresees his future psychological breakdown, which would finally lead to the end of his Bennebroek period in 1927.
JD Voskuil writes in 1935 about the Bennebroek period that it was there that "(...) the moment of the important period of self-realization had come, in which force of painting and capability of composition grew in strength and his performance became convincing." Herman Kruyder "(...) turned out to be an artist with a completely own way of thinking." (J.D. Voskuil, 'Herman Kruyder, meester van expressie' in: Stem des Volks, 1935)
'De klokken van Bennebroek' is a newly discovered work by Kruyder and has always been known in the family of the present owners under this title. Research though has not been able to indeed determine Bennebroek as the exact location, although this is very plausible. Another plausible reference can be made to the painting 'Zondagswandeling' from 1928 (Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam). Both composition and subject, the village in the background and the two figures in the foreground, (of which one seems to be a child), show strong similarities with the present lot.
"The common meaning of expressionism is to a large extent associated with the contributions of the artists of 'Die Brücke' to this movement. Aversion to conventional painting is the unwritten law that binds together the artists of Die Brücke and gives direction to their actions. They proclaim the 'innere Schau', which means that the object will lose its individual value and in stead will become the bearer of the internal tensions and feelings of the artist.(...)
Beauty and external similarity are no longer considerations. The natural image has radically been reduced or distorted, harmony and symmetry give way to the power of lines and to a hazardous, aggressive use of colour. The interaction of contrasts now gives life to the painting.(...) Regarding the iconography, Die Brücke searched for the totality of human existence. Their subjects ranged from love, ecstasy, death, fear, doubt, to loneliness and bitterness. (...) Usually there is question of a disordered existence, of revolt and social indictment." (P. Boyens in: Expressionisme in Nederland 1910-1930, Zwolle 1994. p. 103-104).
It is as if Boyens describes the life and works of Herman Kruyder, in stead of German expressionism. All through his life Kruyder was known to be a hypersensitive person, subject to feelings of anxiety and psychological pressure. Sometimes the pressure became too much for him, which resulted in necessary treatment. His distressing thoughts and anxious feelings were roughly represented in his works, resulting in sometimes aggressive and fierce paintings.
Although Kruyder had surrounded himself with a group of friends and protectors in Haarlem and in his residence Heemstede, in the period 1923 until 1927 he entrenched himself in the solitude of nearby Bennebroek, together with his wife and his dogs. There, becoming even lonelier and more and more eccentric, he retreated to the world of his paintings. Bennebroek is where the most important part of his relatively small oeuvre of paintings came into being, his most expressionistic paintings including museum works like 'De Brief', 'De Varkensdoder', 'De Hondehokken', and also the present lot.
Simplification and abstraction of figures and forms strengthen the expression, the restlessness in the head of the artist, and fields of sharp colours enclosed by firm lines all fight for the attention of the beholder. The works flow over with violent emotions and anxieties, inclining neurosis. The psychological tension and the oppression in the paintings often seem to be ahead of possible dramatic events. Sometimes very clear, like in 'De Varkensdoder', but just as often it is less clear, like in 'De Brief' or in the present lot. It is as if the artist foresees his future psychological breakdown, which would finally lead to the end of his Bennebroek period in 1927.
JD Voskuil writes in 1935 about the Bennebroek period that it was there that "(...) the moment of the important period of self-realization had come, in which force of painting and capability of composition grew in strength and his performance became convincing." Herman Kruyder "(...) turned out to be an artist with a completely own way of thinking." (J.D. Voskuil, 'Herman Kruyder, meester van expressie' in: Stem des Volks, 1935)
'De klokken van Bennebroek' is a newly discovered work by Kruyder and has always been known in the family of the present owners under this title. Research though has not been able to indeed determine Bennebroek as the exact location, although this is very plausible. Another plausible reference can be made to the painting 'Zondagswandeling' from 1928 (Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam). Both composition and subject, the village in the background and the two figures in the foreground, (of which one seems to be a child), show strong similarities with the present lot.