The Low Countries. Jaargang 7

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THE LOW COUNTRIES

ARTS AND SOCIETY IN FLANDERS AND THE NETHERLANDS

A YEARBOOK

 

1999-2000

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Publication

 

This seventh 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 Government of Flanders (Department of Foreign Affairs).

 

The Foundation ‘Stichting Ons Erfdeel’ also publishes the Dutch-language periodical Ons Erfdeel and the French-language periodical Septentrion. Arts, lettres et culture de Flandre et des Pays-Bas, the bilingual yearbook De Franse Nederlanden - Les Pays-Bas Français and a series of books in several languages covering various aspects of the culture of the Low Countries.

 

The Board of Directors of ‘Stichting Ons Erfdeel’

 

President: Philip Houben

 

Managing Director: Jozef Deleu

 

Directors: Herman Balthazar / Jan Bosselaers / Marcel Cockaerts / Annemarie Deleu-Deblaere / Jan Desmyter / Vaast Leysen / Cecile Maeyaert-Cambien / Aad Nuis / Adriaan van der Staay / Cees van der Velden / Ludo Verhoeven / Adriaan Verhulst

 

Honorary President: Raf Renard

 

Address of the Editorial Board and the Administration

 

‘Stichting Ons Erfdeel’, Murissonstraat 260, 8930 Rekkem, Flanders, Belgium

tel. +32 56 41 12 01

fax +32 56 41 47 07

url http://www.onserfdeel.be

 

Head of Administration: Bernard Viaene

Administrative Secretaries: Stephanie Debaene / 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 Dutch-speaking 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 90-75862-38-5

nugi 601

 

Copyright © 1999 ‘Stichting Ons Erfdeel’

Layout by Nel Punt

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 OW COUNTRIES

Arts and Society in Flanders and the Netherlands

A Yearbook

 

1999-2000

Published by the Flemish-Netherlands Foundation ‘Stichting Ons Erfdeel’

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Editorial Board

 

Chief Editor: Jozef Deleu

 

Deputy Editors: Luc Devoldere, 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, Oxford, United Kingdom

Bram Buijze, Ottawa, Canada

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, Capelle a / d IJssel, 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, Strasbourg, France

Paul Vincent, London, United Kingdom

Leo Vroman, Fort Worth, tx, 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

Shapes of Landscape
13	Pieter Leroy Landscape and Space in the Low Countries Reflecting the Differences between North and South
25	Reindert Falkenburg Nature Teaching Art Painted Landscapes in the Low Countries
35	Luc Devoldere No Paradise without a Surveyor Landscape in Literature Poetry and Prose by H. Marsman, Martinus Nijhoff, M. Vasalis, Hugo Claus, Anton van Wilderode, Peter Ghyssaert, Ad Zuiderent, Rutger Kopland, Nescio and Martin Reints
42	Frans Vera Giving the Land Back to Nature Nature Development in the Netherlands
53	Ton Lemaire Lost Landscape?
60	Stephan Vanfleteren Stills of Landscape
65	Filip Rogiers Turning Tides in Belgium An Account of a Ten-Year Political Quest
72	Ton Gloudemans Three Faces of Dutch Animation
78	Marc Ruyters A Fascinating Malaise The Paintings of Luc Tuymans

 

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83	Erik Slagter ‘I turn violence into art’ The Work of Armando Extract from ‘The Street and the Shrubbery’ by Armando
92	G.F.H. Raat From Writer at his Own Expense to Public Phenomenon On the Work of J.J. Voskuil Extracts from ‘The Office’ by J.J. Voskuil
100	Jozef Deleu Guido Gezelle, a Limpid Singer Nine Poems by Guido Gezelle
108	Eugenie Boer Saintly and Generous Saint Nicholas and the Low Countries
116	Jan van Hove The Painter of Silence Dirk Bouts Revisited
123	Amy Golahny Rembrandt's Practical Approach to Italian Art Three Variations
132	Isabel Tanaka-Van Daalen The Struggle between Pallas and Mercury 400 Years of Relations between Japan and the Netherlands
143	Marijke de Groot ‘Japonaiserie forever’ Vincent van Gogh and Japan
152	Christiaan J.A. Jörg Brittle Wares Interaction between Oriental Porcelain and Delft Faience
160	Noël Golvers The Jesuit Connection Relations between Flanders and China
166	Eep Francken ‘Only in my poems can I dwell’ The Work of J. Slauerhoff Two Poems and a Story by J. Slauerhoff
175	Hans Vandevoorde ‘A short name on a small stone’ The Poetry of Christine D'haen Six Poems by Christine D'haen
184	Frans Boenders The Invisible Made Visible Godfried Vervisch and his Anti-Classical Self-Portraits
192	Saskia Bak Robert Zandvliet's Vision
198	Truusje Vrooland-Löb Dick Bruna, the Friendliest Maker of Picture Books in the Netherlands

 

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203	Ton Hoenselaars Recycling Shakespeare in the Low Countries
212	Wim Rutgers ‘We've got to start loving this country more’ Frank Martinus Arion and Dutch-Caribbean Literature Extract from ‘Double Play’ by Frank Martinus Arion
220	James Kennedy The Myth of Dutch Progressiveness The Netherlands as ‘Guide Land’
225	Joris van Parys A Piece of Wood, a Knife and a Man's Genius The Woodcut Albums of Frans Masereel
232	Jef Lambrecht A Big Kid The Work of Edgar Tytgat
240	Christophe Verbiest Island-Hopping in the Musical Archipelago The Work of Peter Vermeersch
244	Ingeborg Walinga A Queen of Refined Manipulation The Work of Inez van Lamsweerde
248	Joris Reynaert Writing for Love's Sake The Work of Hadewijch A Letter, a Vision and a Poem by Hadewijch
255	Arthur Eyffinger Hugo de Groot, a Passionate Thinker

 

Chronicle

Architecture
263	Marina de Vries A Bulwark against the Water The Ir. D.F. Wouda Pumping Station
Cultural Policy
264	Frank Ligtvoet On Being a Nothing and yet Being Something The Promotion of Dutch Culture in the United States
266	Ludo Simons Bookcases and Computer Screens The Royal Library in The Hague

 

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Film and Theatre
267	Jan Temmerman ‘Film is a medium for women’ Patrice Toye and ‘Rosie’
269	Jos Nijhof Theatre Based on Commitment The New Realism of Trust
History
270	Johan Decavele The Last Medieval Emperor Charles V, the Man and the Myth
272	Jan Berkouwer A Financial History of the Netherlands
273	Luc Devoldere Emotion at the Museum In Flanders Fields
275	Filip Matthijs The Strange Case of Windmills and Wooden Shoes Holland Mania in the United States
Language
277	Reinier Salverda The History of Dutch Language Policy in Colonial Indonesia 1600-1950
Literature
278	Joke Linders ‘And the whole world was ablaze’ Bart Moeyaert and ‘Bare Hands’
280	James Brockway Translating for Enjoyment On Translating the Poetry of M. Vasalis
281	Michiel van Kempen Dutch-Language Caribbean Voices in English
283	Elke Brems Snowed-In Poems The Poetry of Miriam Van hee
284	Jane Fenoulhet The Defiant Muse
285	Paul Vincent The Captain of the Butterflies Cees Nooteboom's Poetry
286	Luc Devoldere Literature from the Low Countries in London
Music
288	Mark Delaere Emphatically Contemporary The Ictus Ensemble from Brussels
Science
289	K. van Berkel Hugo de Vries in America

 

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Society
291	Selma Leydesdorff Gender and the Politics of Office Work
292	Paul van Velthoven Controversial Conclusions and Useful Recommendations The First 25 Years of the Social and Cultural Planning Office
294	François Colin Football without Frontiers Euro 2000 in the Low Countries
Visual Arts
295	Janet Koplos The Salve of Humour
297	Peter Vandermeersch Early Low Countries Painting in New York
298	Saskia Bak The Mondrian Bible
300	Anastassia Novikova Art and Commerce in the Dutch Golden Age
301	Marc Ruyters Challenging Art History The Sculptures of Peter Rogiers
302	Saskia Bak In Search of Unity in the Arts The Work of Theo van Doesburg
304	Filip Matthijs Short Takes
309	Bibliography of Dutch-Language Publications translated into English (traced in 1998)
317	Contributors
318	Translators