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Lot Essay
' It is craftmanship, Sir. It has got nothing to do with the mechanical.'
(Jan Schoonhoven quoted in: A. de Visser, De tweede helft: beeldende kunst na 1945, Nijmegen 1998, p. 153)
The present lot was a wedding present to the family of Jan Schoonhoven's wife Anita and comes fresh to the market.
In 1961 Schoonhoven moved to a house along the canal Vrouw Juttenland in Delft with Anita and his son Jaap. It was in this house, where Schoonhoven made all his reliefs from then onwards, sitting at the kitchen table at night after work, crafting relief after relief.
Anita was a fervent jazz lover and organised many parties and events in their house every other day, attended by musicians, artists, poets and writers. The gatherings were very popular and guests would not be leaving until three or four in the morning and the police often came round because of noise complaints. In the midst of such parties Schoonhoven would just remain seated at his table creating his reliefs, believing in the necessity to hold on to the order of his day. The days without visits were equally ordered: these days were strictly for the family, no visit was allowed and they went to bed early. This regularity was also mirrored in his works with their repetition and structure, though they are never exactly the same: through looking at a relief from another angle or with different lights, the shadows of the elements change, creating a constant dynamics. Or like Schoonhoven said: 'I have got the same feeling as Ad Reinhardt has got with his black planes, they are the last possible things. [...] But with these possibilities you can fill a lifetime.' (Jan Schoonhoven quoted in: ibid, p. 152)
Thin ridge cardboard - second one contains one of the motifs that Schoonhoven used several times, the Venetian blinds. The cardboard that he used to craft his reliefs as base for his papier-maché works, now has a prominent role. The intricate way of combining the several shards of cardboard leads to an impressive play of light and shadow, which is further enhanced by the corrugation of the cardboard.
(Jan Schoonhoven quoted in: A. de Visser, De tweede helft: beeldende kunst na 1945, Nijmegen 1998, p. 153)
The present lot was a wedding present to the family of Jan Schoonhoven's wife Anita and comes fresh to the market.
In 1961 Schoonhoven moved to a house along the canal Vrouw Juttenland in Delft with Anita and his son Jaap. It was in this house, where Schoonhoven made all his reliefs from then onwards, sitting at the kitchen table at night after work, crafting relief after relief.
Anita was a fervent jazz lover and organised many parties and events in their house every other day, attended by musicians, artists, poets and writers. The gatherings were very popular and guests would not be leaving until three or four in the morning and the police often came round because of noise complaints. In the midst of such parties Schoonhoven would just remain seated at his table creating his reliefs, believing in the necessity to hold on to the order of his day. The days without visits were equally ordered: these days were strictly for the family, no visit was allowed and they went to bed early. This regularity was also mirrored in his works with their repetition and structure, though they are never exactly the same: through looking at a relief from another angle or with different lights, the shadows of the elements change, creating a constant dynamics. Or like Schoonhoven said: 'I have got the same feeling as Ad Reinhardt has got with his black planes, they are the last possible things. [...] But with these possibilities you can fill a lifetime.' (Jan Schoonhoven quoted in: ibid, p. 152)
Thin ridge cardboard - second one contains one of the motifs that Schoonhoven used several times, the Venetian blinds. The cardboard that he used to craft his reliefs as base for his papier-maché works, now has a prominent role. The intricate way of combining the several shards of cardboard leads to an impressive play of light and shadow, which is further enhanced by the corrugation of the cardboard.