Lot 206
  • 206

CAREL WILLINK | De eeuwige schreeuw (The Eternal Cry)

Estimate
70,000 - 100,000 GBP
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Description

  • Carel Willink
  • De eeuwige schreeuw (The Eternal Cry)
  • signed Willink and dated '64 (upper right)
  • oil on canvas
  • 114 by 140cm., 44 7/8 by 55 1/8 in.
  • Painted in 1964.

Provenance

Acquired from the artist by the family of the present owner circa 1978

Exhibited

Utrecht, De Utrechtse Kring, Expositie van schilderijen. Carel Willink, Pyke Koch, 1965, n.n.
São Paulo, Bienal de São Paulo, 1965, F. 61 
Amsterdam, Galerie Viruly, Carel Willink, 1967, n.n.
Arnhem, Gemeentemuseum, Carel Willink, 1968, no. 27
Deurne, Museum Dinghuis, Carel Willink, 1971, n.n.
Antwerp, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Magisch realisme in Nederland: Raoul Hynckes, Pyke Koch, Carel Willink, 1971, n.n.
Amsterdam, Galerie Lieve Hemel & travelling, Nederlands hedendaags realisme, 1977, n.n.
Zeist, Slot Zeist, Willink natuurlijk. Carel Willinks kijk op de natuur, 1988, n.n.

Literature

Hans Ludwig Cohn Jaffé, Willink, Amsterdam, 1983, no. 289, illustrated p. 235, and in colour p. 164
Sylvia Willink, Vincent Vlasblom, Jurrie Poot, Een eeuw Willink (1900 – 1983), Benningbroek, 1999, illustrated p. 149.

Condition

Please contact the Impressionist and Modern Art Department (Phoebe.Liu@sothebys.com) for the condition report.
"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

Carel Willink was strongly influenced by Magic Realism, an avant-garde movement of Dutch modernism closely associated with Surrealism. During the 1920s and 30s, amidst an intellectual and artistic elite hurtling towards abstraction, Willink, along with his contemporaries Wim Schumachter and Pyke Koch, firmly stuck to figurative painting. In 1925 German critic Franz Roh coined the term Magic Realism in his publication Nach-Expressionismus—Magischer Realismus: Probleme der neuesten europäischen Malerei. Like Surrealism, Magic Realism draws inspiration from dream-like images and illusions rather than from the world as we observe. However, in a departure from Surrealism, Willink and other Magic Realists do not seek to represent any psychological or subconscious experiences. Instead of the automatism favoured by the Surrealists, Magic Realists utilise a near-photographic style and meticulous and intentional juxtaposition to depict scenes which exude a sense of mystery and enchantment.

When Wilma, Willink's second wife, passed away in 1960, the artist travelled to Italy. During this extended trip, Willink visited the Bomarzo Gardens, where he came across colossal, weathered sculptures depicting fantastical monsters. The gardens were commissioned by Pier Francesco Orsini, a sixteenth-century condottiere and arts patron who used the sculptures as a way to cope with the loss of his beloved wife. This trip to the Bomarzo Gardens made a deep impression on Willink, as he completed a series of paintings after his visit in which the monsters are featured prominently. De Eeuwige Schreeuw is a beautiful example from this series. Typical of Magic Realism, Willink has rendered the texture of the rocky landscape and the stone surface of the monsters in a technically brilliant fashion, while using the interplay of light and shadow and the drama of the clouds to imbue the work with an ominous and menacing quality.