Freedom of expression is expressed in article 7 of the Constitution:
"No one needs prior permission to publish thoughts or feelings through the press, except for everyones responsibility under the law."
Paul Abels is committed to freedom of conscience. He explains this in the following fragment.
This painting gives a lively impression of Amsterdam in the 18th century. On the left you can see the City Hall and the Nieuwe Kerk, on the right the Waag where some traders are taking away their weighed goods, while others are standing in line. Amidst the hustle and bustle, an elegant couple is finding their way. On the left behind them, a man is having his shoes shined.
oil on panel, 48 x 63 cm
legacy of jhr. J.S.H. van de Poll, Amsterdam
Nicolaas Baur is one of the most famous painters that Harlingen has ever produced. He was born there in 1767 and died there in 1820. The Rijksmuseum owns eight paintings by Nicolaas Baur. Gemeentemuseum Het Hannemahuis has twenty-three paintings by him in its collection: including Ships in stormy weather in the Outer Harbour of Harlingen (1810-1820) and the Franeker Poort in Harlingen (1813).
Baur was initially a wallpaper painter. Four wallpapers from a house in Harlingen hang in the Town Hall. The wallpaper painter Baur developed into a meritorious marine painter. One of his most famous works is Skating competition for women on the Stadsgracht in Leeuwarden (1809), of which two versions exist. The first version (with Dutch flag) hangs in the Fries Museum in Leeuwarden, the second version (without Dutch flag) has been part of the permanent collection of the Rijksmuseum for several years.
Both paintings show the finish of a skating competition in 1809 between 64 unmarried women on Frisian skates. The main prize of the competition was a golden ear iron. The competition was a hype at the time. In 1805, the first competition between women on skates took place, won by Trijntje Pieters from Poppingawier. A letter writer got terribly upset about it: “What thoughtlessness, devoid of all feeling, is it not to wind up the weaker sex in such a murderous game, by enticing them with shiny gold and jewelry?”
The moralist then writes that the femkes did not even hesitate to “take off all their outer garments, whereby all the grace of their bodies showed themselves completely unfavorably”. The writer appeals to the French King Louis Napoleon “to stop this cruel game”.
Lodewijk Napoleon does not respond. Four years later the women were allowed to repeat. Due to all the fuss, the competition had taken on mythical proportions. People considered it indecent that the women took off their jackets to be able to skate more freely. Their bare arms were clearly visible. Spectators from all over Friesland flocked to Leeuwarden. Houkje Gerrits van Veenwouden, her coat lying on the ice, wins the competition by a nose.
There was so much interest in this event among the Frisian elite that Baur painted and sold the finish of the speed skating competition twice. Almost identical versions, except for the flag. What is striking is that one of the paintings was purchased in 1942 by order of Adolf Hitler for the Reich Chancellery in annexed Poland. The painting hung there until Poland was liberated by the Russians in 1945. Via a long detour, the painting eventually ended up back in Friesland and in 2013 by a Frisian couple donated to the Rijksmuseum.
The typical cold winter air with trees covered in frost form the backdrop for the skating competition. On the right is the gunpowder tower and in the background are the Onze Lieve Vrouwenpoort and the Oldenhove
oil on canvas, 60 x 75 cm
donation of Willem Jan Hacquebord and Houkje Anna Brandsm
Jan Weissenbruch, not to be confused with his slightly younger cousin Johan Hendrik Weissenbruch. That cousin was represented with a dune landscape and with a beach view in Low Countries and Cool Waters. To distinguish them from each other, Jan was called the romantic Weis, and cousin Johan Hendrik the cheerful Weis. Both cousins made strategic use of the color white, their secret weapon. The white city gate of Leerdam is prominently in the middle of the backlight. The sunlight falls on the white plastered lower walls and the white caps of two women who were ‘coincidentally’ present.
Jan Weissenbruch was an artist from The Hague, born in 1822 and died in 1880 in The Hague. His paintings seem very realistic, but in fact he transformed reality into his painting. He turned the city gate of Leerdam 180 degrees, because he found the outside more interesting than the city side. The boom and mast of a flat-bottomed boat in the water behind the city wall can just be seen. The chosen moment is also no coincidence. After a rain shower, the sun shines brightly again and everything is bathed in a bright light. Leerdam is a town on the Linge, which was granted city rights in 1382 by Otto van Arkel and confirmed again in 1407 by Willem VI of Holland.
The painting dates from 1869. The Steigerpoort was already demolished in 1863, so Jan Weissenbruch based it on the sketches he made around 1860 in Leerdam. One of those sketches of the city gate is in the possession of the Teylers Museum. He later made strong compositions of those sketches in his studio, with the necessary artistic freedom.
Jan Weissenbruch preferred to paint in old towns along the Lek, Hollandse IJssel and Linge. With blue skies and clear lines he depicted the old gates, city walls and houses that would be demolished at a rapid pace to make way for modern times.
Jan Weissenbruchs work has a romantic, nostalgic touch. It puts you in a languid, blissful mood. And it is precisely the combination of the straight lines, the detailed drainpipes, the sober staging that makes this painting a masterpiece. A combination of romanticism and realism. It is not without reason that Jan Weissenbruch is called the Vermeer of the 19th century.
oil on canvas, 77 x 104 cm
No trace of decay or economic crisis. Nowhere is the pavement as clean as in a 19th-century Dutch cityscape. In 1868, Springer painted a corner of Enkhuizen that dates from the 17th century: the Zuiderhavendijk and the Zuiderspui with the Spuihuisje at the end. In fact, Springer did here what Monumentenzorg would later do in real life: he preserved a protected cityscape.
oil on panel, 50 x65 cm
legacy of Mr. J.B.A.M. Westerwoudt, Haarlem
The Schreierstoren in the middle of this cityscape was built around 1497 as part of the city wall of Amsterdam. We will not soon find a clear blue sky with Jacob Maris. His cloud formations contribute greatly to the atmosphere of his paintings. The liveliness is enhanced by the ships moored in the Oosterdok.
The facade frames and the roof on the left still catch a glimmer of sunlight, which finds its way between the cumulus clouds.
oil on canvas, 83 x 112 cm
donation of the heirs of theMr. W.J. van Randwijk, The Hague
The landscapes and cityscapes van Jongkind had something truly Dutch with a division of two-thirds sky and one-third land. He also sketched at night and later developed his studies and watercolours into paintings. But even in Rotterdam he could not stay away from drink. He was lonely and unhappy and longed for Paris. His French friends helped him financially. They organised an auction to make his return possible. Eventually, after five years, he returned to Paris and would live in France until his death.
He regularly travelled from Paris to the Netherlands to sketch. He also sketched at night and, back in France, developed his studies and watercolours into paintings. This is also how his moonscapes of Overschie and Rotterdam came into being, with the characteristic play between light and dark. In the nocturnal landscape of Overschie we see a ship, a church tower, and the moon and clouds reflected in the water. The moon breaking through the clouds above a canal in Rotterdam is characteristic of his loose painting style. In France, there was a great demand for his Dutch skies and moonscapes. When Jongkind in 1891 there were still four unfinished paintings in his studio, including a view of Zouteveen, near Delft. Despite his years of residence in France, he had never lost his ties with the Netherlands. He was and remained a Dutchman in France, admired for his typically Dutch principles, such as his connection to observable reality. In the Louvre he is ranked among the French painters.
oil on canvas, 34 x 46 cm
legacy of Mr. J.B.A.M. Westerwoudt, Haarlem
After the Belgian Uprising in 1830 and the subsequent secession, the northern part of the Netherlands had to search for its own identity. Great names such as Michiel de Ruyter and Rembrandt van Rijn were used to teach patriotic proud. Rembrandt was honored in 1852 with the erection of a statue. The Amsterdam Park Hall was decorated with paintings of cities where he is said to have worked.
The painting by Cornelis Springer is a preliminary study for one of these cityscapes, that of The Hague. Only later was it discovered that Rembrandt never worked in the Hofstad.
oil on canvas, 48 x 58 cm
donation of Mrs. J.H. Springer, Haarlem
Aelbert Cuyp enjoyed painting his hometown and painted it frequently. His name is honored in Dordrecht with a work of art by Maria Roosen; abstract, because it is not known what he looked like. His work was and is very popular in England. Here is a copy of the left half of a large painting that now hangs in Ascott House in England.
In 1572 the First Free States Assembly took place in Dordrecht, where representatives of all Dutch cities supported the Revolt against Spanish rule.
A few centuries later, Dordrecht became the leader of the Patriots who wanted to recapture freedom from the House of Orange. This republican revolution would fail.
oil on canvas, 68 x 85 cm
on loan from the municipality of Amsterdam (bequest A. van der Hoop)
On the Roode Steen three important buildings of the city of Hoorn: the Town Hall, the Waag and the Statencollege (now the Westfries Museum).
oil on canvas, 67 x 57 cm
collection Westfries Museum
The Amsterdam painter Oberman poses with a palette, brushes and a painters stick. He self-confidently signs his painting on the cover of his drawing folder. The coal stove is prominently displayed. Oberman is clearly proud of this innovation, which can be used to comfortably heat his studio. The ash pan has been slid out of the stove to allow extra oxygen to reach the fire. The crooked poker with which the fire can be stirred up lies in front of the stove.
oil on canvas, 36 x 44 cm
donation of the Belport-Familienstiftung