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BART VAN DER LECK | Boerenjongen, paard leidend (Farmboy Leading a Horse)
Estimate
100,000 - 150,000 GBP
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Description
- Boerenjongen, paard leidend (Farmboy Leading a Horse)
- signed B.vdLeck and dated 52-55 on the reverse
- oil on canvas in original Piet Elling frame
- 50.9 by 60.9cm., 19 5/8 by 23 5/8 in.
- Painted between 1952-55.
Provenance
Mr & Mrs Piet Elling (acquired directly from the artist)
Family of the Artist (acquired from the above)
Thence by descent to the present owner
Family of the Artist (acquired from the above)
Thence by descent to the present owner
Exhibited
Otterlo, Kröller-Müller Museum & Duitsland, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Bart van der Leck, 1994-95, no. 198 (Otterlo) & no. 124 (Duitsland), illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Literature
Walter Feltkamp, B.A. van der Leck, Leven en werken, Leiden, 1956, no. 156
Condition
Please note that a professional condition report is available for this lot. Please contact the department for further details.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
‘The modern [artist] consistently explores the fundamentals of existential being to achieve transparency in spatial mathematical unity and hence discover the true reality of all humanity, i.e. the representation of physical transience in spatial cosmic reality.’ (Bart van der Leck) Bart van der Leck left behind a legacy of stained glass, architecture, ceramics, furniture and a rarefied collection of 175 paintings. A true polymath, Van der Leck wanted to bring art down from its ivory tower and make it accessible to the public at large. His mission to break the distinction between fine and applied arts shaped his career, working in parallel to the Bauhaus school; Van der Leck preached the importance of unified artistic expression across the entire gamut of creative processes.
Van der Leck’s position in the current historiography of early 20th-century art does not embrace the extraordinary originality of his work, or indeed his enormous impact on the development of post-Modernism and the avant-garde. At the outbreak of the First World War, Piet Mondrian was stranded in Laren, Holland. Unable to return to Paris he was introduced to other artists in the town. This fortunate twist of fate brought him together with Bart van der Leck. Following completely different paths, both artists had reached a similar point in the development of their theories of art, aimed at a rigorous synthesis of form. The pair formed a firm friendship which would be mutually beneficial and led to the birth of one of Northern Europe’s most important contributions to 20th Century art: The De Stijl movement.
Two years later, having met Vilmos Huszár and Theo Van Doesburg, Van der Leck contributed to the first edition of the De Stijl journal. Van der Leck and Van Doesburg were never easy collaborators; indeed Van der Leck’s opinion of the other artist is belied by the comments he made after their first meeting in 1915: ‘Mondrian came to my place one day with Doesburg, whom I had never seen before. When Doesburg noticed an abstract painting right on the easel, he exclaimed: “if that is to be the painting of the future, may I be hanged right now!” Well, a few months later he was painting in precisely that manner’, (quoted in C. Michael, Piet Mondrian, New York, 1971, p. 138) Van Doesburg’s opinion of Van der Leck did not differ and the latter decided distance himself from The De Stijl movement, and focus on his own theories and practice.
However, his early collaboration with Mondrian and their mutual study of Schoenmaeker’s Principle of Plastic Mathematics defined his work going forward. Both artists stopped naming their paintings and rendered subjects in primary colours on white backgrounds. Unlike Mondrian, Van der Leck did not allow his colour fields to overlap or even touch, believing that it removed the harmonious effect of spatial synthesis. According to the artist’s own theory, ‘open’ or unconnected shapes set against a white background gave the work an openness, allowing its surroundings to continue to influence it. Throughout his œuvre Van der Leck continued to reduce figurative form to abstraction.
The first solo show of his work was in 1949 at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam. Made up of paintings and objects spanning his entire career the show did little to promote his original position as one of the founders of the Dutch Post-Modern aesthetic. The artist’s irritation at this was so great that he decided to prove to the world his capabilities. He set about to complete seven completely non-representational works in the 1950s demonstrating his mastery of the idiom, of which the present work may form part.
The present work is presented in a frame made by the artist's friend and architectural collaborator Piet Elling.
This work will be included in the digital Catalogue raisonné of the work of Bart van der Leck currently being compiled by Cees Hilhorst at RKD, the Netherlands Institute for Art History.
Van der Leck’s position in the current historiography of early 20th-century art does not embrace the extraordinary originality of his work, or indeed his enormous impact on the development of post-Modernism and the avant-garde. At the outbreak of the First World War, Piet Mondrian was stranded in Laren, Holland. Unable to return to Paris he was introduced to other artists in the town. This fortunate twist of fate brought him together with Bart van der Leck. Following completely different paths, both artists had reached a similar point in the development of their theories of art, aimed at a rigorous synthesis of form. The pair formed a firm friendship which would be mutually beneficial and led to the birth of one of Northern Europe’s most important contributions to 20th Century art: The De Stijl movement.
Two years later, having met Vilmos Huszár and Theo Van Doesburg, Van der Leck contributed to the first edition of the De Stijl journal. Van der Leck and Van Doesburg were never easy collaborators; indeed Van der Leck’s opinion of the other artist is belied by the comments he made after their first meeting in 1915: ‘Mondrian came to my place one day with Doesburg, whom I had never seen before. When Doesburg noticed an abstract painting right on the easel, he exclaimed: “if that is to be the painting of the future, may I be hanged right now!” Well, a few months later he was painting in precisely that manner’, (quoted in C. Michael, Piet Mondrian, New York, 1971, p. 138) Van Doesburg’s opinion of Van der Leck did not differ and the latter decided distance himself from The De Stijl movement, and focus on his own theories and practice.
However, his early collaboration with Mondrian and their mutual study of Schoenmaeker’s Principle of Plastic Mathematics defined his work going forward. Both artists stopped naming their paintings and rendered subjects in primary colours on white backgrounds. Unlike Mondrian, Van der Leck did not allow his colour fields to overlap or even touch, believing that it removed the harmonious effect of spatial synthesis. According to the artist’s own theory, ‘open’ or unconnected shapes set against a white background gave the work an openness, allowing its surroundings to continue to influence it. Throughout his œuvre Van der Leck continued to reduce figurative form to abstraction.
The first solo show of his work was in 1949 at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam. Made up of paintings and objects spanning his entire career the show did little to promote his original position as one of the founders of the Dutch Post-Modern aesthetic. The artist’s irritation at this was so great that he decided to prove to the world his capabilities. He set about to complete seven completely non-representational works in the 1950s demonstrating his mastery of the idiom, of which the present work may form part.
The present work is presented in a frame made by the artist's friend and architectural collaborator Piet Elling.
This work will be included in the digital Catalogue raisonné of the work of Bart van der Leck currently being compiled by Cees Hilhorst at RKD, the Netherlands Institute for Art History.