2008 - 2009

DFAS	2008 - 2009

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Previous Activities 2008 - 2009 2007 - 2008 2006 - 2007	Activities for the Season 2008 - 2009 On this page: International Culture & Leisure Fair, Visit to Hof van Wouw, Conservation Studio of Van Gogh Museum, Visible Silence: Marsden Hartley, Painter and Poet, Love! Art! Passion!, Hiroshige Lecture in the Siebold House, Bridfas Study Day 2008, Organ and Carillon Concert, Visit to St. Jan's Church in Gouda, Annual Constantijn Lecture International Culture & Leisure Fair Sunday 20 September, 2009 Committee members presented DFAS at the International Culture & Leisure Fair held in the city hall of The Hague on September 20, 2009. The fair is a showcase international culture and leisure activities in Holland. Over 100 organisations ranging from classical music to water rafting were represented. Additionally there was information on careers and education as well as information on events in Holland organised by International cultural organisations e.g. African and Asian cultural activities. All in all around 40 sports and social clubs from The Hague region were represented. For more information go to: www.FeelathomeinTheHague.com. Visit to Hof van Wouw Our guide with DFAS vice-chairman Didi Maaldrink 9 June Members of DFAS were treated to a tour of one of the most attractive and authentic almshouses in the city and its historical garden. These almshouses were founded in 1647 by Cornelia van Wouw for the purpose of providing accommodation for single women. The residents are still chosen by the rules laid down in the will of the founder. Behind the Hof is a fruit and flower garden originally intended for the use of Cornelia and her family. It has been restored to its 17th century fashion by the famous garden architect Polak Daniels. After the tour members were treated to lunch in the historic Regents Room. Below: Members viewing regent room in the Hofje Visit to Conservation Studio, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam Ella Hendriks explaining aspects of conservation work to DFAS members Below: Two van Goghs! Wednesday 22 April DFAS members were very privileged to have a visit behind the scenes of the Conservation Studio at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, which is not open to the public. Ella Hendriks, head of conservation at the Van Gogh Museum, told us about their work being carried out in relation to the in-depth study of Van Gogh's painting and drawing materials. This work had been initiated in collaboration with the Van Gogh Museum, the Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage and Shell Nederland. Her colleagues Rene Boitelle and Margje Leeuwenstein also demonstrated the research and restoration work they are undertaking. Everyone agreed what a wonderful opportunity it was--not only to hear about the research and see the techniques involved--but also to come so close to works of van Gogh! Visible Silence: Marsden Hartley, Painter and Poet Visible silence: Marsden Hartley, Painter and Poet An Essay in Film by Michael Maglaras "It is because I love the idea of life better than anything else that I believe most of all in the magic of existence, and in spite of much terrifying and disillusioning experience of late, I believe." Above: Michael signing copies of the DVD and Alan r, Susan McKinlay Thursday, 2 April 2009 The Decorative and Fine Arts Society of The Hague presented the European Premiere of the Documentary, “Visible Silence: Marsden Hartley, Painter and Poet,” An Essay in Film. The film is a deeply personal view of Marsden Hartley, who has long been considered one of the fathers of American Modernism. Forty-three paintings and some of his writings capture the essence of Hartley. Michael Maglaras, Director and the film’s narrator, led the viewer through Hartley’s journey from his beginnings in rural Maine to his final but belated prominence on the world stage of art and ideas. Both Mr. Maglaras and the film’s Producer, Terri Templeton travelled to The Netherlands just for this event. Mr. Maglaras gave a brief introduction and answered questions at the reception following the viewing. Members and friends of DFAS enjoyed the evening which was held in the theatre of the American School of The Hague. Members and friends enjoying the reception Love! Art! Passion! Saturday, 14 March The Petroleum Wives Club of the Hague invites DFAS Members to the Love! Art! Passion! Artist Couples Exhibition at the Gemeentemuseum. The visit is followed by lunch. This major exhibition features 17 famous artist couples such as Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, Camille Claudel and Auguste Rodin, Hans Arp and Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Robert and Sonia Delaunay, Wassily Kandinsky and Gabriele Münter, Natalia Gontscharowa and Michel Larionov, Lee Krasner and Jackson Pollock, Marianne von Werefkin and Alexej von Jawlensky, and Niki de Saint-Phalle and Jean Tinguely. Each couple’s personal and artistic ties are revealed via works of art created in a period stretching from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century and now gathered together from all over the world. Do this as a couple or not, but perfectly suited for partners! We will meet at Gember, next door to the museum, for lunch at noon. We will then go to the Gemeentemuseum and divide into two groups for a 14:00 tour of the exhibition. Lunch at Gember (optional): “Rolls & Wraps;” Deluxe wraps with chicken, pastrami & goat cheese; Rolls with chive cream cheese, beenham & aged cheese: served with nachos, taco sauce, creme fraiche and grated cheese. Beverages: Milk, buttermilk, orange juice, coffee and tea with refills. NOTE: Due to the City-Pier-City Half Marathon that day, allow extra time to get to the Gember or Gemeentemuseum. Public transport and roads will be somewhat hampered and congested by the course through the city. Time: Lunch: noon. Tour: 14:00. Cost: Lunch at Gember (optional): €12 including gratuity. Tour: € 7 PWC members, € 8 non-members plus museum entrance at your own expense. Museum: Museum card holders, free. If enough sign up, group ticket rate: € 7. Maximum: 30 persons. Hiroshige Lecture in the Siebold House, Leiden Above: the members enjoying the lecture.ure. February 11th, 19:30 On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the death of Hiroshige, the Sieboldhuis in Leiden held a large exhibition of over 140 prints, split into two consecutive parts, of the Japanese landscape artist and printmaker. Many DFAS members and friends enjoyed a wonderful evening. The prints for the show were 75% from private collections from The Netherlands, the US and Japan with supplements by unique items from the Siebold Collection and the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. Mr. Chris Uhlenbeck, an internationally acclaimed authority on Japanese art and curator of the exhibit gave a fascinating lecture. Above: The lecturer, Chris Uhlenbeck Here is a brief summary of his lecture, Hiroshige: Shaping the Japanese Landscape. Hiroshige (1797-1858) is considered the most important artist of the Japanese landscape print. He is also seen as one of the strongest influences on Western painters, ranging from Corot to Whistler, Monet and especially van Gogh. Various authors have said that in a way he was the one who shaped our view of 19th century Japan, a dreamland that present-day visitors still seem to expect when they arrive at Narita, the airport of Tokyo. In the early 20th century, Hiroshige was lauded by the Japanese as the ‘ artist who understood nature’ , someone who expressed the essentially Japanese virtue of living with the seasons. In my talk I would like to explore these romantic perceptions of Hiroshige and show that especially Van Gogh’s ideas of the artistic community of the Japanese artists, were completely unfounded. I intend to stress the commercial constraints and influences on Hiroshige’s work, emphasizing the timely emergence of the landscape print genre in few of socio-economic conditions. Left: members enjoying refreshments in one of the museums exhibition rooms. After the lecture members were able to visit the exhibit and enjoy wine and refreshments with Mr Uhlenbeck helping to guide through the exhibit and patiently answering the many questions. The refreshments , all with an oriental theme were provided by two committee members. Speaker and a member looking at prints Bridfas Study Day 25th October 2008 The 2008 BRIDFAS Study Day comprises a visit to the British Museum's major exhibition "Hadrian: Empire and Conflict." "By the time Hadrian succeeded Trajan in 117 A.D., the Roman Empire covered Caledonia (the northern part of Britain) to the Middle East. A man of contradictions, Hadrian was an implacable military man who stabilized his empire while developing a passion for Greek culture and the young Greek Antinous. The exhibition explores his complex personality and his legacy through sculpture, bronzes, and architectural fragments." International Herald Tribune Arts Guide page. Programme: 10.00 Private coffee in the Clore Education Centre (CEC) Foyer. 10.30 Private lecture by Dr. Thorsten Opper, Curator of the exhibition and Curator of the British Museum Roman Collections, in the CEC. 11.30 Private lunch of mixed sandwiches, juices, water, & coffee, CEC. 13.00 Timed admission to the Hadrian exhibition, Reading Room. 14.30 Private tea & biscuits. 15.00 Private gallery talk in the related Roman galleries. 16.00 Study Day ends. Organ and Carillon Concert Tuesday October 14th 15:00 On their visit to the Netherlands, members of the Vale of Aylesbury, UK NADFAS Society, spent one day in Voorburg where their tour advisor, Peter Medhurst, one of our favourite lecturers, gave an organ concert in the Old Church. This was followed by playing of the carillon. They were joined by members of DFAS The Hague and a reception was given at the home of the Chairwoman. Venue: Old Church, Voorburg Cost: DFAS members € 5.00, non-members €7.50. Right: Jane Choy and Loek Boogert, the Carrillon player in The Old Church Below: Peter Medhurst playing the small organ Below: Peter Medhurst introducing the musical programme he will perform Visit to St. Jan's Church in Gouda September 27th, 10 am, Season Opener The DFAS Season Opener was 27 September, in which members and friends made their way to St. Jan’s Church in Gouda. The church, consecrated to John the Baptist, is famous for its enormous collection of 16th century stained glass windows by Dirck and Wouter Crabeth. From the outset, the church insisted on retaining a set of the original drawings, when usually these “cartoons” were destroyed after the windows were installed. The church also has many documentary paintings of the windows in its keeping, which is also rare. St. Jan is 123 meters long, making it the longest church in Holland. A sunny Saturday was a bonus, in that it allowed optimal viewing. Our two guides covered technical as well as artistic aspects about the windows. We got a short peek into the special vault where the drawings and paintings are stored and in a cosy side room. An original Crabeth drawing was unrolled just for us. All visitors seemed to agree that they would never view a stained glass window quite the same in future. Above: A carton and the finished window depicting John the Baptist. More info: Use our contact form or phone: 071-5615209. For more information about the "Cartons" and their restoration, visit the web site at http://www.cartons.nl/ For more information about St. Jan's Church in Dutch surf to http://www.sintjan.com/ For more information about St. Jan's Church in English visit the church's English web site. (There is actually a lot more information on this site.) Annual Constantijn Lecture Thursday, September 4th Professor Lisa Jardine will give a lecture in honour of Constantijn Huygens’s (1596-1687) 412th birthday, entitled: "Sir Constantijn Huygens: An irregular seventeenth century life." (This is not a DFAS activity but members and friends are invitied.) The life of Sir Constantijn Huygens is an object-lesson for the would-be biographer in the dangers of writing a biography which fails to acknowledge the crossing of national boundaries. Huygens has two separate ‘lives’ according to whether he is being looked at from one or other side of the North Sea. Such was the range of his interests and the diversity of his contacts in two distinct (and often mutually hostile) countries that some might view him as a mere dilettante: dabbling in arts and sciences and communicating with the English Stuart dynasty, whilst loyally advancing the interests of the Dutch Town Governors (Stadholder) he served professionally. And yet, on closer inspection, Huygens's life is inextricably intertwined with extremely important cultural moments and whole movements in artistic taste, in both the Netherlands and in Britain. In her most recent book, "Going Dutch: How Britain plundered Holland’s Glory" Lisa Jardine has tried to map out the fascinating ‘irregular life’ of Sir Constantijn by embedding him deeply in the English and Dutch cultures of his time – uncovering the story of achievement straddling and spanning nation states, and binding them together in ways we have perhaps failed to recognise. That has required her to abandon the traditional style of writing a biography – whether historical or literary – in favour of entirely new strategies for weaving together the life-stories of outstanding individuals who shaped European culture. Professor Jardine has written a number of best-selling general books on cultural and historical subjects, such as humanism and Erasmus, Shakespeare, the architect Sir Christopher Wren, the scientist Robert Hooke, and about the Golden Age and Prince William of Orange. Lisa Jardine is Director at the Centre for Editing Lives and Letters and Centenary Professor of Renaissance Studies at Queen Mary, University of London. Furthermore, she is Fellow of the Royal Historical Society amongst many other positions that she fills. She is a regular writer and presenter of BBC Radio 4's “A Point of View”. Professor Lisa Jardine will take up the fellowship at the Royal Library in The Hague this autumn. She will concentrate her studies on the Huygens Collection. The lecture will be given in English. Venue : Voorhof van de Oude Kerk te Voorburg, Herenstraat 77, The Hague. There will be an opportunity to buy Lisa Jardine's book “Gedeelde Weelde” before and after the lecture. For more information visit the museum's web site at www.hofwijck.nl .
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