Posted on Leave a comment

Haagse Stijl

What is meant with HAAGSE STIJL? This question was answered with a beautifull exhibitionat the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag in 2004. The book which was published on that occasion was compiled and written by Timo de Rijk and ahs become the ultimate book on the subject. ( available at www.ftn-books.com)

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Haagse Stijl is the period that a typical ART DECO style in Den Haag was developed. There were several furniture producers at that time in Den Haag and Pander was one of them. They made everything from consoles to bookcases and from desks to wast paper baskets.

During the years between the two world wars a luxurious and modern style of design emerged that was termed the ‘Hague School’. The style featured architectural forms, with the straight-sided, Cubist shapes of the furniture directly echoing those of contemporary buildings. Important influences included Berlage’s idealism, traditional arts and crafts, the interiors of Frank Lloyd Wright and the avant-garde ideas of De Stijl. The result was a modern, commercial style of design. Art Deco in The Hague – Interior design in The Hague during the interwar years occupies eleven rooms and shows some of the finest furniture and interiors of this period in The Hague

These golden years of DE HAAGSE STIJL was only a short period , because WWII made an end to most of the producing furniture makings in Den Haag and surroundings, but followthe auction houses closely and you certainly will find objects and furniture from this time slot….a tip the VENDUEHUIS has opened a special location from which their online auctions are directed. This is the spot to find DE HAAGSE STIJL.

Posted on Leave a comment

Eugene Brands (1913-2002)…there are forgeries on the market.

Schermafbeelding 2017-06-27 om 09.37.02

In 1946 he participated in the exhibition JONGE SCHILDERS in the Stedelijk Museum and joined the experimental group of young painters in the Netherlands which would later become the COBRA mouvement. From there on he developed a very recognizable style with light bright colors, using many shades of red and yellow. Almost every large museum in the Netherlands has works by Brands in their collections and paintings and drawings are frequently offered for sale at auction or on auction sites. But beware !….. at one time i was visiting a viewing day ( many many years ago) by Sothebys on their Nes location when Brands walked in with the Amsterdam director of Sotheby’s. At that time there were about 10 works by Brands for sale. Brands walked around, glasses and furcoat still on (inside a heated room) , made a quick tour in the viewing hall, pointed out  and marked at least 5 works that were forgeries, since that occasion and knowing that there are many fake Brands paintings, i stayed away from them. Of course you can buy them at the gallery Nouvelles Images and Galerie de Rijk. It will be a safe buy, because all works sold by them are genuine, guaranteed and mostly registered pieces from the Brands studio, but from other sources …..BEWARE. Eugene Brands publications are available at www.ftn-books.com

Posted on Leave a comment

Beauty and simplicity at de RIJK Fine art

Last week i was in the Stedelijk Museum  Amsterdam and was very much impressed by the Malevich and “white” rooms with Dekkers and Schoonhoven. White and nothing but white and it reminded me of the current exhibition at de Rijk Fine Art ( Noordeinde 95 /Den Haag).

Excellent, high quality, museum worthy paintings by ao Schoonhoven , Dekkers and Leblanc… in a totally different setting which was more a cosy living room ( including the dog ;-), than a gallery. The simplicity and in the same time complexity of the works, work very well in this setting. They do not need a museum presentation to show their true qualities. This exhibition lasts until the 26th of February so i advise you to take a look at the de Rijk gallery and see for yourself the qualities of this great and important gallery exhibition.

For publications on Schoonhoven, Dekkers and Malevich visit www.ftn-books.com

 

Posted on Leave a comment

Zero..Walter Leblanc.. Edoardo Landi..Dadamaino at de Rijk Fine Art

schermafbeelding-2017-01-30-om-12-08-12

Last Saturday at De Rijk Fine Art in Den Haag a very exquisite small exhibition opened …name….Too Good To Be True…. and yes this is a small art dealer exhibition where all works shown are for sale and of a rare exceptional quality. Zero, Gruppo N and Minimal art all combined in one beautiful presentation and very well worth visiting, because such an excellent selection of works is rare.( I have never seen so many Dadamaino’s in one place for sale ….so only for this fact visiting is a must.)

We visited the exhibition last Sunday. Just returned from 2 days Vienna where we chose our new dog, we loved the contrast between the “Art Nouveau and Wiener Werkstatte” and the minimal, but still very complex modern art on show at De Rijk. For me there were 2 highlights. First of all the Walter Leblanc. aprox 90 x 90 cm. A Zero inspired circle of twisted strings from 1963 in AAA condition, very well framed and the lightning made this work in all its simplicity stand out as one of the very best Walter Leblanc’s i have ever seen.

 

Secondly there were 2 works by Edoardo Landi i liked very much. The larger one of the 2 won me over as soon as i started to take some distance from it. The space between the lines appeared to be different each time, meaning an extra dimension was added to the work. Visiting Den Haag?…go to de Rijk to see some amazing art!

De Rijk Fine Art, Noordeinde 95, Den Haag, +31(0) 653953493

 

The above publications are available at www.ftn-books.com