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Dutch sky

August 12, 2020

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This is the kind of sky the Dutch masters of the 17th century painted.

photography The Netherlands

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Nobody's boy, Hector Malot

My childhood version. The Dutch title translates as: Alone in the world When I was little, my parents had a big blue book on their bookshelves with beautiful drawings. I loved the story of the young orphan Remi who was sold by his mean stepfather when he was ten years old to a musician, Vitalis, who travelled around with Joli-Coeur the little monkey and the dogs Capi, Dolce and Zerbino. Nodoby’s boy is a beautiful story and I read it many times. Only later did I find out this was a world famous French classic, translated into many languages. The story is probably known: Remi is an orphan and that is why he does not belong to anybody. But fortunately for him he does encounter many people who help him, sometimes for a short while, but often for a longer period of time. Vitalis is a good man, but during a cold winter’s night when they could not find shelter, he dies. Gardener Alcuin takes Remi into his family, but when a heavy storm destroys the glasshouses, fat

Icon, the life, times and films of Marilyn Monroe, Gary Vitacco-Robles

More than 600 books are written about Marilyn Monroe. Biographies in all sorts, from made up and all about scandal to serious and well researched. You can ask the question if it is possible to bring a new biography with more than 1200 pages. And the answer is a whole hearted ‘yes’! Gary Vitacco Robles wrote a biography in two volumes. Volume I covers the years 1926-1956 and has 584 pages, volume II covers the years 1956-1962 and has 678 pages. That does not include notes, film synopsis, literaturelist etc. As far as I am concerned, Icon, the life, times and films of Marilyn Monroe is the definite biography, there is nothing that can be added to this. It looks like Gary Vitacco Robles used almost every available source there is about Marilyn Monroe. So he is very capable in explaining why some biographers got things wrong, they did not have all the sources or did not use all of it. I like Icon because it gives new information in all the details it gives.

Inspirational art: Pupils from the knitting-school

This painting is painted in 1895 by Dutch painter Wally Moes. She lived from 1856-1918 and was a member of the painting school in the artist's village of Laren. She is known for painting romantic and often sentimental paintings, and most of her paintings did not stand the test of time, I think. But this one I absolutely loved. You see here three little girls who were pupils of the knitting school, and you see them with their knitting, while they walk. I saw this painting at the exhibition about Jan Veth I wrote about a couple of weeks ago, because Wally Moes was a friend of Jan Veth.

Hidden churches in Amsterdam

In the 17th century the Dutch Republic was a bit of an exception in Europe. We were a Republic amongst monarchies, and also tolerance was something that was treasured. Since the war against Spain (1568-1648), Calvinism was the main religion in the Netherlands, but other religions were allowed to practice their faith. As long as they did so in silence. Especially the Roman Catholics had to be a bit careful. They could have churches, and the whole town knew a Roman Catholic church was there, but as long as it was not recognizable as a church and they did not do anything in public, they were tolerated. Some of these Schuilkerken (hidden churches) can still be seen in Amsterdam. One of the most beautiful churches is called 'The parrot' , in the middle of the busy shopping street The Kalverstraat. Inside is a lovely church full of atmosphere. Worth a visit! Another well known hidden church is at the Begijnhof . The church on the Begijnhof is now an Anglican church, but on

Inspirational art: Jan Altink

Rooster at The Blauwborgje 1927-1928 Jan Altink (1885-1971) was born in Groningen, in the north of The Netherlands (as was I) and he got his training as a painter in Groningen. He became one of the most well-known Dutch expressionists. He was an important member (and one of the founders) of a Groninger artists collective, called The plough (De ploeg). Jan Altink came up with the name because he wanted to signify that something new had to start and the ground needed to be ploughed, so new ideas could grow. I saw this painting in the Singer museum in Laren, when I was there last month. I immediately liked it very much. The blauwborgje is the name of a farm just outside the city of Groningen, where the artists of The plough often came together. I like the colours and I can look at it for a long time, there is something new to be seen every time I see it.

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Dutch sky

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