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A PRIVATE COLLECTION OF PLOEG PAINTINGS The Ploeg started as a new art society in Groningen in 1918, when Jan Altink, Johan Dijkstra, Jan van der Zee and Jan Wiegers decided that they wanted "to bring Groninger artists closer together (..) to enliven in all ways the artistic life (..), so as to stimulate opportunities for work and to make our work known by holding exhibitions." The group did not have a real program in a formal or artistic way. Anyone who was seriously concerned with art was welcome. A number of young artists felt they did not have enough opportunity in Groningen to develop themselves and exhibited their work. In their early phase most of the members where French-oriented with influences from cubism and mild forms of expressionism. The main artistic change came in 1920, when Jan Wiegers went to Davos for almost a year to cure from an illness. There he met Ernst Ludwig Kirchner who became a close friend. Under his guidance Wiegers developed a much rougher form of expressionism. His work from that period shows strong resemblance with the work of Kirchner. Very new was the use of wax paint, a material with which Kirchner had been experimenting in the days when he was part of 'Die Brücke' and which was obtained by mixing benzine and wax. After Wiegers' return from Switzerland his new work had great influence on several other Ploeg members and he was looked upon as the most prominent modernist. Johan Dijkstra was immediately taken by the new possibilities of the wax paint: "The wax paint technique with its strong reflecting effect and few mixed colours abides by laws of its own. This sort of paint dries quickly and can be spread out in smooth areas of colour". In the works of Wiegers, Dijkstra, Altink, Jordens and Werkman a new, unrestricted visual language broke through, using bright colours and plain forms. Also in their use of colours, Ploeg artists like Wiegers, Altink and Dijkstra became more daring and their brushstrokes more sketchy. The city, the country side of Groningen, artist portraits and nudes, were their main subjects. In their subject matter the artists of the Ploeg are actually more related to the works of contemporary artists from Flanders, like Gustave de Smet, Frits Vandenberghe and Constant Permeke than to Die Brücke artists. At the end of the 1920's the years of commonly held ideals and related forms of expressionism were over. The main personalities within the society developed directions of their own, that moved further away from the Kirchnerian expressionism. Werkman increasingly concentrates on his 'druksels'. The individual artist returned to more moderate directions. Jan Wiegers reached a synthesis of styles that were to constitute an other highlight in his oeuvre. De Ploeg as an artist's society exists to this day. After the first generation, other artists followed, like Ekke Kleima who joined them in 1926. In his early work he was influenced by the landscapes of Altink. He developed a very personal form of expressionism that, as Henk van Os stated "Waar het om gaat in de innerlijk doorleefde samenhang van de verschillende elementen van het landschap, daarbij speelt de kleur een essentiële rol. Zijn mooie landschappen zijn vaak kleuren visioenen (...) (Henk van Os, Ekke A. Kleima, Groningen, 1982, p.6) Another younger artist was Ruurd Elzer. Inspired by Jan Altink he came to Groningen and applied for a Ploeg membership in 1941. He developed a very personal form of expressionism, which he, later on in 1950's, combined with a semi cubistic style. AFTERNOON SESSION AT 2.00 P.M. (Lots 210-423)

Johan Dijkstra (Dutch, 1896-1978)

De Boteringebrug met de Turfsingel en het Lopende Diep, Groningen (recto); A river landscape in Groningen (probably Reitdiep, verso)

Details

Johan Dijkstra (Dutch, 1896-1978)
De Boteringebrug met de Turfsingel en het Lopende Diep, Groningen (recto); A river landscape in Groningen (probably Reitdiep, verso)
signed 'Johan D.' (lower left)
waxpaint on canvas
50 x 64 cm.
Painted circa 1924-1925.

Provenance

Private collection, Twello.

Literature

Adriaan Venema, De Ploeg, Baarn 1978, p. 113 (ill.)

Exhibited

Groningen, Groninger Museum, De Ploeg - stad en land, 17 May - 27 October 2002.

Special notice

Christie's charge a premium to the buyer on the final bid price of each lot sold at the following rates: 23.8% of the final bid price of each lot sold up to and including €150,000 and 14.28% of any amount in excess of €150,000. Buyers' premium is calculated on the basis of each lot individually.

Lot Essay

The present work depicts the 'Boteringebrug' looking towards 'Het Lopende Diep'. In the early 1920's Johan Dijkstra painted another work from the same bridge, looking more or less in the same direction at the 'Spilsluizen' (See: C.C. Hofsteenge, De Ploeg 1918-1941, Groningen 1993, ill. p. 89). (fig. 1)

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