CORNELIS VREEDENBURGH (Woerden 1880 – Laren 1946)
Boerderij (The Farm)
signed C. Vreedenburgh in the lower right
oil on canvas
23 ¼ x 35 ¼ inches (59 x 89.5 cm)
THE DUTCH DREAM
Spring is often used to refer to rebirth, rejuvenation and regrowth. The length of days grows longer and warmer, helping drag the world out of the dark, cold days of winter. Flowers bloom bright, grass turns green and birds’ tweet to announce a return from their winter jaunt south. Spring or the allusion to spring is often used in art. Just as it is in life, spring can have a variety of mostly positive undertones, signalling change is in the air.
One of the many joys of art is that the viewer is always in control. The layers behind an artwork are many, but peeling them back is completely the viewer's choice. As we saw with our previous post, a beautiful floral still-life can be just that, but a closer look gave us a window into the tulip trade and the dangerous disfunction of a speculator’s market. The later, masterful pastoral landscape, with all the trimmings of a ‘typical’ Dutch scene, we are looking at today, can offer not only a glorious, sunny Dutch spring dream, but an escape from the current society the artist was surrounded by.
Cornelis Vreedenburgh was born in Woerden, The Netherlands in 1880. He received his initial training from his father Gerrit Vreedenburgh, Sr. In 1902 and for the next few years, he received lessons and guidance from Gerardus Johannes Roermeester, Willem Bastiaan Tholen, O.W.A. (Albert) Roelofs, Pieter Arntzenius and Leo Gestel. From 1904-1906, he was the recipient of a Royal Grant and his work took him to the Zuiderzee coast, Kaag, Loosdrecht, Naarden, Nunspect, the south of France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and Palestine. After his 1912 marriage to the painter Marie Schotel, they lived for a time in then unfashionable St. Tropez, later settling in Laren by 1918.
The Netherlands of just after the turn of the century was not yet the social dream it would aspire to be! The politics of the day were fractured and the Social Democratic Worker’s Party was on the rise. This brought on labor strikes and there was quite a convincing feeling of unrest in the cities. World War I, although The Netherlands stayed neutral, offered up warring neighbors and geographical issues that combined for a massive food shortage. On top of all these other social challenges, it wasn’t until 1918 that men other than highly paid or wealthy ones were given the right to vote (women in 1922). So, escape – particularly to the peace and quiet of the countryside and the wealth of farm food would have truly been a dream for many at the time. The abundance depicted here would have felt other worldly to so many suffering social strife, starvation and poverty. Who could blame Vreedenburgh for nurturing this dream?
Spring not only symbolized then – as now – an offering of hope and change – a revitalizing of flora and fauna and a genuinely brighter outlook on life! Enjoy this picture for its beauty or its deeper offering of hope. That is the great thing about art – you decide! No matter which you choose, it won’t matter because this dream isn’t just the Dutch dream, it is every person’s dream. Sunny days along a gurgling stream (or canal), flowers blooming and ducks quacking - it sounds pretty good right now. Spring, we are counting the seconds ‘till you arrive!
15 March, 2021