The Low Countries. Jaargang 4

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Publication

 

This fourth yearbook is published by the Flemish-Netherlands Foundation ‘Stichting Ons Erfdeel’, with the support of the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (Zoetermeer) and the Flemish Ministry of Culture (Brussels). The Foundation ‘Stichting Ons Erfdeel’ also publishes the Dutch-language periodical Ons Erfdeel and the French-language periodical Septentrion. Arts et culture de Flandre et des Pays-Bas, the bilingual yearbook De Franse Nederlanden - Les Pays-Bas Français and a series of books in different languages covering various aspects of the culture of the Low Countries.

 

The Board of Directors of ‘Stichting Ons Erfdeel’

 

Honorary President: Raf Renard

 

President: Philip Houben

 

Managing Director: Jozef Deleu

 

Directors: Herman Balthazar / H.W.J. Bosman / Jan Bosselaers / Annemarie Deleu-Deblaere / Jan Desmyter / Vaast Leysen / C. Maeyaert-Cambien / C. Reedijk / Adriaan van der Staay / Adriaan Verhulst

 

Address of the Editorial Board and the Administration

 

‘Stichting Ons Erfdeel’, Murissonstraat 260, 8931 Rekkem, Flanders, Belgium

tel. +32 56 41 12 01

fax +32 56 41 47 07

e-mail erfdeel@pophost.eunet.be

url http://www.onserfdeel.be/soe

 

Head of Administration: Bernard Viaene

Administrative Secretaries: Stephanie Debaene / Johan Feys / Hans Verhaeghe

 

Aims

 

With The Low Countries the editors and publisher aim to present to the English-speaking world the culture and society of the Dutchspeaking area which embraces both the Kingdom of the Netherlands and also Flanders, the northern part of the Kingdom of Belgium.

 

The articles in this yearbook survey the living, contemporary culture of the Low Countries as well as their cultural heritage. In its words and pictures The Low Countries provides information about literature and the arts, but also about broad social and historical developments in Flanders and the Netherlands.

 

The culture of Flanders and the Netherlands is not an isolated phenomenon; its development over the centuries has been one of continuous interaction with the outside world. In consequence the yearbook also pays due attention to the centuries-old continuing cultural interplay between the Low Countries and the world beyond their borders.

 

By drawing attention to the diversity, vitality and international dimension of the culture of Flanders and the Netherlands, The Low Countries hopes to contribute to a lively dialogue between differing cultures.

 

issn 0779-5815

isbn 90-70831-96-1

nugi 601

 

Copyright © 1996 ‘Stichting Ons Erfdeel’

 

Printed by Die Keure, Bruges, Flanders, Belgium

 

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the prior permission of the copyright holder.

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The Low Countries

Next page: H. Koekkoek, The Kofship (detail). c. 1850. Canvas, 38 × 58 cm. Maritiem Museum Prins Hendrik, Rotterdam.

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THE LOW COUNTRIES

Arts and Society in Flanders and the Netherlands

A Yearbook

 

1996-97

Published by the

Flemish-Netherlands Foundation ‘Stichting Ons Erfdeel’

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Editorial Board

 

Chief Editor: Jozef Deleu

 

Deputy Editors: Frits Niessen, Reinier Salverda

 

Secretary: Filip Matthijs

 

Members: Dirk van Assche, Anton Korteweg, Hans Vanacker

 

Design and Picture Editor: Kees Nieuwenhuijzen

 

Advisory Committee

 

Fred G.H. Bachrach, Twickenham, United Kingdom

E.M. Beekman, Amherst, ma, usa

André Brink, Cape Town, South Africa

James Brockway, The Hague, The Netherlands

Christopher Brown, London, United Kingdom

Patricia Carson, Ghent, Belgium

Jan Deloof, Zwevegem, Belgium

Theo D'haen, Leiden, The Netherlands

Bruce C. Donaldson, Melbourne, Australia

Charles Ford, London, United Kingdom

Amy Golahny, Williamsport, pa, usa

Jaap Harskamp, London, United Kingdom

Adrian van den Hoven, Windsor, Ontario, Canada

Jonathan Israel, London, United Kingdom

E.H. Kossmann, Groningen, The Netherlands

Frank Ligtvoet, New York, ny, usa

Hans van Marle, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Martin Mooij, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Arnold J. Pomerans, Colchester, United Kingdom

Ethel Portnoy, The Hague, The Netherlands

Paul R. Sellin, Los Angeles, ca, usa

William Z. Shetter, Bloomington, in, usa

Johan P. Snapper, Berkeley, ca, usa

Kees Snoek, Auckland, New Zealand

Paul Vincent, London, United Kingdom

Leo Vroman, Brooklyn, ny, usa

Rudi Wester, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

John Willemse, Pretoria, South Africa

Michael J. Wintle, Hull, United Kingdom

Manfred Wolf, San Francisco, ca, usa

Joanna Woodall, London, United Kingdom

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Contents

12	Hubert Savenije
Water and the Netherlands Friends or Foes?
19	Anton Korteweg and Frits Niessen
Ten Water Poems
Poems by Anna Enquist, Ida Gerhardt, Jan van Nijlen, Paul Snoek, M. Vasalis, Herman de Coninck, Ad Zuiderent, Ed Leeflang, Michaël Zeeman and Maria van Daalen
25	Filip Matthijs
The Terminus of the Continent The Life and Times of Ostend
39	Marc Dubois
Art Nouveau in Flanders
46	Lutgard Mutsaers and Wim Swinnen
The Sounds of the Low Countries
52	Yves Knockaert
New Music in Flanders
59	Henk Krol
Gay behind the Dikes Homosexual Emancipation and Marriage in the Netherlands
65	Magda Michielsens
A World of Difference Women in the Netherlands and Flanders
74	Erna Metdepenninghen
‘A Tribute to Fine Schooling’ The Royal Flanders Ballet
80	Hans van den Bergh
A Champion with a Cause? Conflicting Views on Multatuli
Extract from ‘Max Havelaar’ by Multatuli

 

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91	Jan Bank
An Awkward Anniversary Indonesia and the Netherlands: Decolonisation Fifty Years On
97	Jaap Goedegebuure
The Quest for his Dreamland Jeroen Brouwers' East Indies Triptych
Extract from ‘The Flood’ by Jeroen Brouwers
110	Jane Fenoulhet
Hella S. Haasse and the Historical Novel or: The Triumph of Fact over Fiction
Extract from ‘Gentlemen of Tea’ by Hella S. Haasse
121	Thomas Elsaesser
‘One Train May Be Hiding Another’ History, Memory and Identity in Film and Television
130	Ludo Bekkers
Looking for the Ultimate Painting Thoughts on the Work of Raoul de Keyser
136	Marc Ruyters
Truth Kills The Art of Jan Vercruysse
141	Cyrille Offermans
Arranger of Voices The Literary Work of Leo Pleysier
Extracts from ‘White Always Looks Good’ and ‘The Yellow River Is Frozen’ by Leo Pleysier
152	James Tanis
The Tale of a Cow
163	J.M. van der Horst
A Brief History of the Dutch Language
173	Manu Ruys
Flemish Nationalism, a Rainbow Phenomenon
182	Patricia Carson
James van Artevelde, Myth or Reality?
191	Heidrun Ludwig
‘The Life of Man Is like unto a Flower’ The Life and Work of Maria Sybilla Merian
198	Heidi van de Veire
In Search of the Unknown South-Land Abel Tasman and New Zealand
206	Ed Wingen
The Mystery of the Milky Way The Painter Eugène Brands' Fascination
213	Wiljan van den Akker
Martinus Nijhoff, a Dutch Master of Modernism
Five Poems and One Fragment by Martinus Nijhoff

 

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220	Erik Slagter
Lucebert: As a Poet a Visionary, as a Painter an Eye-Witness
Four Poems by Lucebert
230	Anne Marie Musschoot
‘A Living Idea in Time’ The Work of Maurice Gilliams
Four Poems and an Extract from ‘Elias, or The Struggle with the Nightingales’ by Maurice Gilliams
239	Nico J. Brederoo
A Boxful of Styles The Work of Jan Toorop
249	Hans Ibelings
Relativity and Architecture The Work of Aldo van Eyck
255	Herman-Emiel Mertens
Edward Schillebeeckx and Christian Humanism
260	James McConica
A Dutchman for All Seasons The Life and Works of Erasmus of Rotterdam
Chronicle
Architecture
266	Steven Jacobs
Contemporary Architecture in Belgium
Cultural Policy
267	Filip Matthijs
Closing the Ranks and Opening the Gates The Association for Low Countries Studies
268	Wilfred Jonckheere
Dutch Studies in South Africa
269	Reinier Salverda
Dutch Cultural Policy: the Colonial Experience
270	Ellen Fernhout
Fixed Book Price in Difficulties
Film and Theatre
272	Gerdin Linthorst
Marleen Gorris, a Feminist Moralist
273	Marc Ruyters
Manneken Pis A Belgian Film from Flanders
274	Jef de Roeck
p.a.r.t.s. A School of Contemporary Dance

 

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History
275	Lauran Toorians
An Eager Apprentice Peter the Great and the Netherlands
276	Ludo Milis
England and the Low Countries in the Late Middle Ages
277	Charles Ford
Small History Geert Mak's Amsterdam
278	Christiaan Berendsen
The Netherlands as the World's First Modern Economy
Language
279	J.G. Kruyt
Language Databases for Dutch
280	Karel Bostoen
‘People say that Dutch is a language for horses’ James Boswell and the Dutch Language
282	Valère Meus
A Complete Dutch Course for Beginners
Literature
282	Paul Hadermann
The Grotesque Narratives of the Poet Paul van Ostaijen
284	Jolanda Vanderwal Taylor
The Message of Meaninglessness The Books of Willem Frederik Hermans
285	Manfred Wolf
Versions and Translations of Dutch-Language Poetry
286	Paul Vincent
Literary Translation Some Personal Experiences
288	Wim Vanseveren
Internationalism versus Nationalism The Work of Anne Provoost
289	Reinier Salverda
Beekman's Indies
Music
291	Marc van den Hoof
Toots Thielemans, a Poeta Universalis of Jazz
292	Erik van den Berg
Independent Record Labels in the Netherlands
293	Wim Chielens
Twenty Years of Folk in the Field at Dranouter
Science and Philosophy
294	Baltus Zwart
Nobel Prize for Paul J. Crutzen
295	Herman-Emiel Mertens
Louis Dupré, a Philosopher of Culture and Religion

 

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Society
297	Martine Goossens
The Flemish Parliament
299	Aart van Zoest
‘Let's keep it gezellig’ An Odyssey into the Dutch Psyche
Visual Arts
300	Ed Leeflang
Magic and Mastery The Artist Peter Vos
302	Paul Huvenne
Rubens' House Fifty Years as a Museum
304	Mariët Westermann
Jan Steen's Comic Vision
305	Celeste Brusati
Vermeer and the Art of Optical Disillusion
307	Wim Pijbes
In the Shadow of Vermeer Master Forger Han van Meegeren
308	Henk Egbers
The European Ceramics Work Centre in 's-Hertogenbosch
310	Dirk van Assche
The Etchings of Jules de Bruycker
311	Filip Matthijs
Going Out in Style Flemish Illuminated Manuscripts 1475-1550
●
312	Bibliography of Dutch-Language Publications translated into English (traced in 1995)
318	Contributors
319	Translators