Posted on 02.05.202425.01.2024 by ftnbooks — Leave a comment

Neel Korteweg (1944)

Neel Korteweg, born in The Hague, is a Dutch artist. Currently residing and working in Amsterdam, she holds degrees in sculpture and architecture from the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten and the Academy of Architecture in Amsterdam, respectively. While she received her education in these fields, Korteweg is best known for her painted oeuvre, often featuring portraits and human figures.

Korteweg’s fascination with the vulnerability of faces and bodies is reflected in her dynamic and free approach, which defies simple classification as either realistic or abstract. Her work, which can be described as figurative, also possesses depth influenced by both Romanticism and 20th century abstract painting traditions.

Despite rarely exhibiting her work publicly, Neel Korteweg makes a point to invite friends and collectors to an exclusive studio exhibition once a year, centered around a specific theme. Her yearly creations often revolve around her time spent in Normandy, a unique journey, or a personal discovery. These exhibitions are accompanied by a written introduction by Korteweg and special performances by artists she admires. Working in silence for extended periods of time, Korteweg explores themes that intrigue her and waits for invitations from art collectors or museums that cross her path.

www.ftn-books.com has now the special edition of UIT DE DIEPTE VAN DE ZEE available.

Posted on 28.08.202326.06.2023 by ftnbooks — Leave a comment

Edouard Manet (1832-1883)

Born on January 23, 1832, Édouard Manet came from a wealthy family residing in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district in Paris. After attending the Institut Poiloup, he began to study drawing at the age of 12 at the reputable Collége Rollin. After being rejected by the Marine Academy, he received his academic education under Thomas Couture at the Academy of Fine Arts.

However, he eventually broke away from the classicism of the Academy and Couture, leaving after six years to set up his own studio with Albert de Balleroy. Unsatisfied with the conventional art of Couture, which lacked the freedom of randomness, he began exploring alternative forms of expression. He found inspiration at the Louvre and during trips to The Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and Spain.

“The Absinthe Drinker,” regarded as his first independent painting, was rejected by the Paris Salon’s jury in 1859. “The Spanish Singer” was more successful, receiving an honorable mention from the Salon jury in 1861.

In 1863, Manet created two major works, “Luncheon on the Grass” and “Olympia.” They were met with both radical disdain, being described as scandalous, mocked, and ridiculed, as well as recognition and sudden fame.

His standing within the emerging avant-garde began to take effect and those with a thirst for change gathered around him. The desire for freedom, a new social order, a new doctrine, a new art form- all of this eventually united a group of artists, which initially started as a small circle (including Baudelaire, Cezanne, Zola, and Berthe Morisot) and grew so large that he was proclaimed as the “king of the impressionists,” although he did not consider himself as belonging to this style.

From 1870, Manet worked closely with Claude Monet and was inspired to paint outdoors.

Edouard Manet passed away on April 30, 1883 as a result of a leg amputation.

www.ftn-books.com has several books on Manet and his impressionist friends available.

Posted on 12.07.202122.04.2021 by ftnbooks — Leave a comment

Willem Hussem (continued)….the poet

Schermafbeelding 2021-04-22 om 15.21.13

Willem Hussem has been a long time favorit of mine and not only for his paintings , but also his poetry is remarkable. Influenced by the rythme of japanese poetry , Hussem began to write his poems as early as 1950. He is becoming deservedly more and more known for his poems of which one recently found a place on a wall in the city of Leiden. It is the same poem as the one that graces the cover of the book which was published in 1977 by Bert Bakker and Nouvelles Images which is now available at www.ftn-books.com

Where do you draw the line between the art of painting and poetry? Willem Hussem started out as a painter of landscapes and portraits but from the 1950s onwards his work became more abstract. This way, he hoped to capture the essence of an image, a technique he also used in his poetry. His poems became shorter and more powerful, which is also evident in this poem, in which Willem Hussem uses words to paint the beach of Scheveningen.

After his return to the Netherlands, Hussem also started writing poetry. His first collection of poems, De kustlijn (The coastline), was published in 1949. In subsequent collections the sea also plays a prominent role. The beach of Scheveningen, on which this poem is based, was his primary source of inspiration. Hussem mostly wrote short poems in which he ‘painted’ images for which he received the Dutch Jan Campert award for poetry in 1965.

Translated it is :