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Lot Essay
After a period of symbolist painting between 1910 and 1913, Jan Mankes' style of painting made a transition to a more stylized form, characterized by the use of lighter tones.
In the years 1913/1914 a further development of his style followed: the contour lines gain importance compared to the tonality and at the same time a greater stylization and an austere monumentality become apparent. These developments can be seen in his landscape and anatomical studies of animals and people in his small village 't Meer in Friesland, the northern part of the Netherlands. His interest in animals was particularly aimed at farm animals and his depictions of goats are a prime example. Jan Mankes' frequent correspondence with his patron Mr A.A.M. Pauwels (1875-1952), a businessman and art collector, gives insight in his interest in this specific subject matter: "... this is what we are going to pursue and I will postpone working on other [subjects]. (...) I imagine they will become lovely paintings." (Letter from Mankes to Pauwels, from collection of Beint Mankes, quoted in: H.F. Bruyel-Van der Palm e.a., Jan Mankes, schilderijen, tekeningen en grafiek, Utrecht, 1989, p.64).
After these studies, Mankes started a series of paintings depicting an old man, a local farmer named Douwe de Groot. Douwe was painted multiple times in the same characteristic pose; leaning on his spade with his back arched from working at the farm. Mankes' wife Annie wrote about the artist's fascination with farmer Douwe: "Jan could not get enough of him [Douwe]. He drew, painted and lithographed his head." (see: A. Mankes-Zernike en R. Holst, Jan Mankes, Wassenaar, 1928, p. 31). In the present painting, Douwe can be seen in his recognizable pose; arched and holding the spade (fig. 1). Although Mankes tried to paint the details of the old man as realistically as possible, the way he rendered the silhouette is very much stylized. Mankes believed that the painting had to be unified with the spiritual vision of the artist. To make the farmer look as he had appeared to Mankes at that particular moment, his clothing have been painted in a realistic way. The stylized silhouette gives the figure a strong presence and whereas many of Mankes' portraits have been painted en profile, this one is full length and full face, which adds to the subdued power of this painting. In addition to that, this painting shows one of the distinctive features of paintings made in 1915 by Mankes: the large and rectangular size of the canvas.
In the years 1913/1914 a further development of his style followed: the contour lines gain importance compared to the tonality and at the same time a greater stylization and an austere monumentality become apparent. These developments can be seen in his landscape and anatomical studies of animals and people in his small village 't Meer in Friesland, the northern part of the Netherlands. His interest in animals was particularly aimed at farm animals and his depictions of goats are a prime example. Jan Mankes' frequent correspondence with his patron Mr A.A.M. Pauwels (1875-1952), a businessman and art collector, gives insight in his interest in this specific subject matter: "... this is what we are going to pursue and I will postpone working on other [subjects]. (...) I imagine they will become lovely paintings." (Letter from Mankes to Pauwels, from collection of Beint Mankes, quoted in: H.F. Bruyel-Van der Palm e.a., Jan Mankes, schilderijen, tekeningen en grafiek, Utrecht, 1989, p.64).
After these studies, Mankes started a series of paintings depicting an old man, a local farmer named Douwe de Groot. Douwe was painted multiple times in the same characteristic pose; leaning on his spade with his back arched from working at the farm. Mankes' wife Annie wrote about the artist's fascination with farmer Douwe: "Jan could not get enough of him [Douwe]. He drew, painted and lithographed his head." (see: A. Mankes-Zernike en R. Holst, Jan Mankes, Wassenaar, 1928, p. 31). In the present painting, Douwe can be seen in his recognizable pose; arched and holding the spade (fig. 1). Although Mankes tried to paint the details of the old man as realistically as possible, the way he rendered the silhouette is very much stylized. Mankes believed that the painting had to be unified with the spiritual vision of the artist. To make the farmer look as he had appeared to Mankes at that particular moment, his clothing have been painted in a realistic way. The stylized silhouette gives the figure a strong presence and whereas many of Mankes' portraits have been painted en profile, this one is full length and full face, which adds to the subdued power of this painting. In addition to that, this painting shows one of the distinctive features of paintings made in 1915 by Mankes: the large and rectangular size of the canvas.