The Low Countries. Jaargang 10

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Publication

 

This tenth 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, 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 / Luc Devoldere / 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: Adinda Houttekier / 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 90-75862-56-3

nur 600

 

Copyright © 2002 ‘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

 

Cover: Pieter Saenredam, Nave and Choir of the St Catharijnekerk, Utrecht (detail). Undated.

Panel, 116.8 × 95.8 cm.

Upton House, Banbury / Photo courtesy of The National Trust Photographic Library / Christopher Hurst

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TLC 10

The Low Countries

ARTS AND SOCIETY IN FLANDERS AND THE NETHERLANDS

2002

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

Christopher Brown, Oxford, United Kingdom

Bram Buijze, Ottawa, Ontario, 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, Princeton, nj, usa

E.H. Kossmann, Groningen, The Netherlands

Frank Ligtvoet, New York, ny, usa

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, Dordrecht, The Netherlands

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

Iconoclasms
11	Jozef Deleu
Foreword
12	Hans Cools
Tabula Rasa The Iconoclastic Fury in the Low Countries
21	Kees Fens
Not a Church Tower in Sight The Secularisation of the Netherlands
30	Peter Derkx
From ‘Do you believe in God?’ to ‘What makes your life meaningful?’ Unbelief in the Netherlands
36	Jan Kerkhofs S.J.
The Silent Iconoclasm in Flanders
42	Jeffrey Tyssens
The Road from Enlightenment to Indifference Unbelief in Flanders
48	Joris Gerits
How God Survived His Death in Books
56	Hans Ibelings
New Life for Old Churches Reusing Religious Buildings in the Netherlands
60	Jozef Deleu
‘I'll Call You God, You Powers’ Fifteen Poems
Poems by Joost van den Vondel, ? Hadewijch, Jacobus Revius, Guido Gezelle, Nikolaas Beets, Anton van Wilderode, J.A. dèr Mouw, Martinus Nijhoff, Maurice Gilliams, Gerrit Achterberg, Ida M.G. Gerhardt, Pierre Kemp, Leo Vroman, Hans Andreus and Jos de Haes.

 

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70	Marc Dubois
Refurbishing the House of God Adaptive Reuse of Religious Buildings in Flanders
76	Brigitte Dekeyzer
Images of Christ The Depiction of Christ in the Mayer van den Bergh Breviary
84	C.G. Kok
Other Words, Another Sound New Liturgical Music in the Netherlands
89	Harold van de Perre
‘Twixt Heaven and Earth The Madonna in Painting in the Low Countries
98	Th. van den End
Christianity in Indonesia, Past and Present
105	Valeer Neckebrouck
How the Congo Was Converted Belgian Missionary Work in Central Africa
112	Lammert G. Jansma
Religious Identity and Americanisation Dutch Settlements in North America
120	Pieter T'Jonck
A Seething Cauldron Dance in Brussels
126	Eddie Marsman
Room for Everything The Photographs of Jacob Olie
134	Rieta Bergsma
In Pursuit of the Moment George Hendrik Breitner, Painter and Photographer of a Lost Age
141	Hugo Brems
Poets Pick Things Up all over the World The Poetry of Luuk Gruwez
Five Poems by Luuk Gruwez
149	Johan Valcke
Flemish Furniture Design
160	Cyrille Offermans
Unstable Equilibrium The Versatility of J. Bernlef
An Extract and Four Poems by J. Bernlef
172	Cees van der Geer
His Own Protagonist The Work of Teun Hocks
178	Fred G.H. Bachrach
Encounters and Recognitions English Landscapists and Dutch Old Masters - Then and Now

 

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187	Lori van Biervliet
No Victorian Disneyland Bruges, the Past in the Present
196	A.L. Sötemann
A Great Minor Poet The Poems of J.C. Bloem
Five Poems by J.C. Bloem
204	José Boyens
Opting for What Does not yet Exist The Art of Carel Visser
214	Hans Vandevoorde
On Yeats’ Footstool The Poet Karel van de Woestijne
An Extract and Five Poems by Karel van de Woestijne
225	Marc Ruyters
Innocence Can Be Hell The Art of Berlinde de Bruyckere
230	Frans de Rover
Books Should Be Both Comic and Painful The Work of Arnon Grunberg
Extract from ‘Phantom Pain’ by Arnon Grunberg
237	Marie Christine van der Sman
Books in the Baron's House The Renovation of the Meermanno-Westreenianum Museum
244	Rudi van der Paardt
Paul Claes, a New Literary Wizard
An Extract and Four Poems by Paul Claes
252	Jozef T. Devreese and Guido Vanden Berghe
Simon Stevin, Flemish Tutor to a Dutch Prince
257	Peter Wesly
Johan Goudsblom: More than a Sociologist

 

Chronicle

Architecture
263	Koen van Synghel
Dasein, Empathic Architecture, or Poetry in Concrete? The Architecture of Paul Robbrecht and Hilde Daem
Cultural Policy
265	Filip Matthijs
A Temporary ‘Naturalisation’ Translators' Houses in Amsterdam and Leuven
267	Elly Cockx-Indestege
The Bookshop of the World

 

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Film and Theatre
268	Jos Nijhof
Christ Recrucified The Tegelen Passion Plays
270	Wim de Poorter
How ‘Royal’ is the Royal Belgian Film Archive?
271	Erik Martens
Where Angels Fear to Tread The Discovery of Heaven
History
272	Reinier Salverda
Selective Affinities Anglo-Dutch Relations, 1780-1980
273	Fred G.H. Bachrach
A Passionately Dutch English King The Tercentenary of the Death of William III
275	Lauran Toorians
The Commemoration of a Multinational Four Hundred Years of the Dutch East India Company
Language
277	Reinier Salverda
Languages in Competition
Literature
278	Annemie Leysen
The Ageless Writings of Bart Moeyaert
280	Luc Devoldere
Amsterdam, The Netherlands' Big Apple
281	Elsa Strietman
The Middle Dutch Arthur in his Rightful Place at the Round Table
Music
283	Hendrik Willaert
Music of the People, for the People Peter Benoit, a Hundred Years On
284	Jan Rubinstein
A Pioneer in Electronic Music The Tonal Art of Jan Boerman
286	Vic de Donder
The Queen and the Violin Fiftieth Anniversary of the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition
Philosophy and Science
288	Ger Groot
Face to Face with the ‘Dalton Terror’ Philosophy between University and Journalism
289	Dirk van Assche
No Half-Measures Peter Piot Leads the Struggle against Aids
Society
290	Willem Breedveld
Wim Kok, the Prime Minister from the Polders
291	Jos Bouveroux
The Lambermont Agreement: Another Step in Belgian State Reform

 

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Visual Arts
292	Hans Vanacker
Pieter Bruegel the Elder: The Master Drawer's Comeback
294	Eric de Bruyn
An Enduring Fascination The Boom in Bosch
297	Wim van der Beek
Flexible Materials with Backbone The Duality of Sibyl Heijnen's Objects
299	Johan de Vos
Variations on the Ordinary The Photographs of Rineke Dijkstra
301	José Boyens
‘A talent for art and a liking for mathematics’ The Sculpture of Norman Dilworth
●
302	Filip Matthijs
Short Takes
308	Bibliography of Dutch-Language
Publications translated into English (traced January-November 21, 2001)
318	Contributors
319	Translators