13 October 2009 to 24 January 2010
This autumn, the Jewish Historical Museum will be mounting
the first ever retrospective exhibition devoted to the
nineteenth-century painter Meijer de Haan (1852-1895). De Haan was
a close friend of Vincent van Gogh's younger brother Theo and
collaborated with Paul Gauguin, but he himself never became well
known. The forthcoming exhibition seeks to change this situation.
After it closes in Amsterdam it will be shown at the Musée d'Orsay
in Paris and in the Musée des Beaux Arts Quimper, Brittany,
entitled 'Le maître caché, Meijer de Haan'.
For the first time in 125 years, De Haan's work will be brought
together in one place. His Amsterdam period and his time in
Brittany, where he worked with Gauguin, will both receive ample
attention. Besides De Haan's paintings and a few by Gauguin, the
exhibition will also feature work by De Haan's pupils, including
Joseph Jacob Isaacson, Louis Hartz and Baruch Lopes de Leao Laguna.
The exhibits will be drawn from private collections and museums
worldwide.
The exhibition sheds light on the role of Dutch Jewish artists in
the latter half of the nineteenth century from a surprising angle.
The portraits and genre paintings produced in Meijer de Haan's
Amsterdam period were clearly influenced by the Zeitgeist as well
as his Jewish background. They display a marked contrast with the
later work dating from his time in Brittany, which is related to
work by famous contemporaries such as Paul Gauguin, Emile Bernard
and Paul Sérusier. The unexpected contrast in style, light and
colour in these two crucial periods will serve as the show's
guiding principle.
Born into a conservative milieu in the heart of Amsterdam's Jewish
quarter, De Haan elected to become an artist as a very young man.
His earliest work dates from his apprenticeship with P.F. Greive
and his subsequent period of study at the National Academy of Art
in 1874. Between 1878 and 1888, De Haan had a studio on the
premises of his family's business, De Haan bread and matzo bakery
on Valkenburgerstraat, where he taught and supervised a number of
pupils.
Meijer de Haan's abrupt departure from Amsterdam in 1888
precipitated a complete revolution in his artist and personal life.
After a few months in Paris, where he stayed with Theo van Gogh and
familiarised himself with the innovative art movements of his day,
he moved to Brittany. In the eighteen months that he worked in and
around the fishing village of Le Pouldu, working primarily with
Gauguin, he developed from a Rembrandtesque, academic painter into
a devotee of Gauguin's bright, colourful palette, while preserving
his own individual style.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a richly illustrated
monograph, to be published in English and French.
The primary sponsor of this exhibition is the Turing
Foundation.
For information and/or images, please contact:
Marketing and Communication Department
Tel. +31 (0)20 531 0370
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