Johannes Jacobus (Jan) van der Vaart (
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
, 17 October 1931 –
Leiden
Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...
, 8 November 2000) was an influential Dutch
ceramicist
Ceramic art is art made from ceramic materials, including clay. It may take forms including artistic pottery, including tableware, tiles, figurines and other sculpture. As one of the plastic arts, ceramic art is one of the visual arts. Whi ...
from the 20th century, known as founder of the abstract-geometric ceramics in the Netherlands.
One of the key concepts in his work was the reintroduction of the pyramid or
tulips tower, a specific type of
tulip vase
A tulip vase, or pyramid vase, is a vase designed to put cut flowers and especially tulips in, but it primarily serves as a decorative showpiece. They were first made in the Netherlands in the 17th century and were decorated with ''Delfts blau ...
, from the 16th century in his own constructivist form.
Biography
Early life and early career
Van der Vaart is autodidact,
and took a pottery class for amateurs at the Vrije Academie in
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
from
Just van Deventer
Joost (Just) van Deventer (Leiden, 6 August 1906 – Amsterdam, 26 August 1957)[Biographical data](_blank)
at the Netherl ...
and
Theo Dobbelman
Theodorus Antonius Hubertus Maria (Theo) Dobbelman (Nijmegen, 22 October 1906 – Montalivet-les-Bains, France, 7 September 1984) was a Dutch sculptor, ceramist and painter.
Dobbelman came into prominence as ceramist and leader of the experiment ...
. In the 1950s he started working as a ceramicist in
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
.
In 1958 Van der Vaart was cofounder of the artist collective ''Groep 58'' of seven young artists, five painters, a sculptor and a ceramicist. They wanted to oppose abstract art, in favor of realistic work. With one of the artists,
Herman Gordijn, he had one of his first exhibitions in the
Haagse Kunstkring
The Haagse Kunstkring (English The Hague Art Circle) is an association in The Hague for artists and art lovers. Among the members are visual artists, architects, writers, recitation artists, photographers, musicians and designers.
The association ...
, where Van der Vaart had become and would stay a member.
A second duo exhibition there in 1960 brought one of their first art reviews in the news paper.
[Harman Gordijn en Jan van der Vaart]
. ''De Tijd De Maasbode,'' Amsterdam, 1960/04/14, p. 4. Beside multiple other exhibitions tater that year Van der Vaart had his first duo exhibition in Galerie D'Eend in Amsterdam with
Peter de Francia.
In 1960 he settled in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
, and made study trips to Italy, France and England. At first he made his work of stoneware and since 1961 also in porcelain. Inspired by the idea of stacking forms, in 1961 Van der Vaart introduced the theme of the pyramid tulip vase in the contemporary visual arts. With these stack of forms, the vases and bowls were built from tight, geometric elements, which are combined in different ways. The functional use of his objects are of importance: a vase should contain flowers. The tulip vases and towers consist of twisted or hand-shaped elements, since the 1970s also build with poured out shapes. Van der Vaart re-used these form again for his designs, and fellow potters were inspired by him to the same.
In 1962 Van der Vaart took part of an exhibition of six young ceramicists from Amsterdam in
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen
Municipal Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen () is an art museum in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The name of the museum is derived from the two most important collectors of Frans Jacob Otto Boijmans and Daniël George van Beuningen. It is located at ...
, together with
Hans de Jong
Hans de Jong (26 March 1932 – 3 March 2011) was a Dutch sculptor, designer and ceramist.
Life and work
Born in Leiden, De Jong received his first lessons in pottery in the studio of Gerrit de Blanken (1894–1961) in Zoeterwoude in 1948. He ...
,
Jan de Rooden
Jan de Rooden (31 August 1931 - 1 April 2016) was a Dutch ceramist and sculptor, who worked in Nijmegen, Paris, and Amsterdam.
Life and work
Born in Nijmegen, De Rooden grew up in Groesbeek and was seminarist in Haastrecht from 1945 to 1953. A ...
,
Johan van Loon
Johan Gerard van Loon (Rotterdam, 29 October 1934 – Breda, 24 February 2020) was a Dutch ceramist and textile artist.[ ...](_blank)
,
Sonja Landweer
Sonja Landweer (20 April 1933 – 15 December 2019) was a Dutch artist and ceramist, who lived and worked in Ireland, known for her bronze castings, unique patinations and subtle forms.Peppercanister Gallery.Sonja Landweer, biography" at ''pepper ...
and
Johnny Rolf
Johanna Jacoba (Johnny) Rolf (born 30 September 1936, in The Hague) is a Dutch ceramist, drawing artist and sculptor.
Life and work
Rolf was educated into the pottery profession by Jan de Rooden, with whom she started a studio in 1958 and marr ...
, which signified the rebirth of artisan ceramics in the Netherlands.
[Piet Begeer,]
Verheugende expositie van zes Amsterdamse pottenbakkers
" ''Het vrije volk : democratisch-socialistisch dagblad,'' Rotterdam, 1962/06/01, p. 9.Mienke Simon Thomas
Margaretha Wilhelmina Francina (Mienke) Simon Thomas (born 1954) is a Dutch art historian, curator and author, working as a senior curator at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. She is known for her works on the development of Dutch appli ...
(2008).
Goed in vorm: honderd jaar ontwerpen in Nederland
'' p. 188 In those days he started participating in Delft at the annual "Contour onzer beeldende kunst" exhibition, which presented the latest development of contemporary art.
During the 1960s Van der Vaart began designing vases in large format. These unique pieces he designed were no experiments; purity and usability were still an important starting point. The unica were received at various exhibits with much praise and regarded by collectors as true masterpieces. In 1967 it was made be possible to cast his design in small series, making the work affordable for many. In the first decades of his career Van der Vaart had developed and distributed his work himself. Later, some designs were produced at the
Royal Tichelaar Makkum, and since 1984 he also designed work for
Rosenthal GmbH Germany.
Professor at Rietveld Academy and later career
In 1968 he was appointed ceramics professor at the
Rietveld Academy
The Gerrit Rietveld Academie, also known as Rietveld School of Art & Design and Rietveld Academy, is an art academy in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The academy was founded in 1924 and offers programs in fine arts and design.
History
In 1924, the I ...
in Amsterdam, and especially in this position he became innovator of ceramic art in the Netherlands.
[''American Ceramics,'' Volume 9, 1991. p.] Until his retirement in 1993 he educated a new generations of potters, such as
Geert Lap
Gerardus Johannes (Geert) Lap (born Venlo, 24 December 1951- 26 April 2017
) was a Dutch ceramist, known for his new approach to ceramics characterized as clay minimalism.
Life and work
Geert Lap studied at the AKV St. Joost from 1974 to 1976, ...
,
Wietske van Leeuwen, Anita Manshanden, Wouter Dam, Irene Vonck,
Barbara Nanning
Barbara Nanning (born January 3, 1957, The Hague, Netherlands) is a Dutch sculptor, ceramicist and glass artist.
Life
Nanning studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy from 1974 to 1979 under Harry op de Laak, Jan van der Vaart, and at the Rijk ...
, Mieke Blits, Alberdien Rullmann and Esther Stasse assisted by
Emmy van Deventer
Emmy van Deventer-Molt (2 February 1915, in Voorburg – 1998) was a Dutch ceramist, and lecturer at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie, and the AKV St. Joost. and since 1980 by
Henk Trumpie.
In 1991 in the
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen
Municipal Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen () is an art museum in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The name of the museum is derived from the two most important collectors of Frans Jacob Otto Boijmans and Daniël George van Beuningen. It is located at ...
in Rotterdam held the exhibition "Jan van der Vaart 35 years of ceramics," in which his entire career was represented with 350 pieces.
Especially for this occasion Van der Vaart designed a fan-shaped vase on a foot, which was produced by the Royal Tichelaar Makkum is produced (in the blue and tomato red color).
Later in life, he started making glass designs for Royal Leerdam and fulfilled assignments from the Czech Republic. Fifty years after the liberation in 1995, Royal Leerdam had two orange vases designed by the then chief designer of Royal Leerdam Siem van der Marel, and Jan van der Vaart. Between 1994 and 1997 Van der Vaart made designs for the Royal Leerdam Leerdam Unica and Leerdam Serica series and some unique utensils. The designs of Van der Vaart can be counted among the best design of the glass factory in decades. The design for the orange vase he made in his characteristic geometric style. It was - like that of Van der Marel - released in a limited edition of 200 pieces.
Awards
Van der Vaart was awarded the following prices:
* Porceleyne Fles Award, 1965; by the
De Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles
The Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles N.V. (trading publicly as Royal Delft) is a Dutch manufacturer of Delft Blue earthenware, headquartered in Delft, the Netherlands. It is the only remaining factory out of 32 that were established in Delft during th ...
.
* Prix de la Critique, 1967
* Emmy Leersum Price, 1988
Work
Jan van der Vaart is considered one of the most important Dutch ceramic artists of the 20th century.
[Karin Gaillard,]
Jan van der Vaart atelier
" at ''princessehof.nl''. Accessed 29.11.2019.[Jan van der Vaart plastiek](_blank)
''stedelijk.nl.'' Accessed 29.11.2019. As the founder of a geometric abstract direction in postwar-ceramics he was nationally and abroad particularly influential. His work is very recognizable due to the distinctive character and the logical and consequent development of his artistic beliefs.
From the beginning the work of Van der Vaart has been sleek and geometric. Purity of form and usability were important requirements for Van der Vaart, and in his work he strove to reach a perfect unity of material, form and glaze. He perceived shape as the most important, and considered decoration detracts from the monumentality of his work. This monumentality went along with the prevailing architecture of that period. His work fit in
De Stijl
''De Stijl'' (; ), Dutch for "The Style", also known as Neoplasticism, was a Dutch art movement founded in 1917 in Leiden. De Stijl consisted of artists and architects. In a more narrow sense, the term ''De Stijl'' is used to refer to a body o ...
related architecture, which expressed clarity and simplicity. Also, his work is related to the abstract-geometric art production in the Netherlands after De Stijl.
[Jan van der Vaart]
at ''kunstbus.nl.'' Accessed 15.05.2015.
Van der Vaart's work is of clear form, focusing on the use object and undecorated. Vases have been preferred, as well as a construction in turning or casting technique. His designs are blocky, simple and sober: Many clean lines with soft gliding, often sloping surfaces. In addition, Van der Vaart makes ceramics in a more complex style. His work is also distinguished by the special tinted glazes which he put on his vases, mainly the bronze glaze. But also his white vases, with geometric shapes, generally are considered to be his trademark. He also made series in bright pink, lilac and blue.
Van der Vaart wanted to create useful quality ceramics for a wide audience. Thus arose the next are unique 'multiples', objects that have been made in limited editions and signed. As a result, they got the authenticity of unique works of art and at the same time remain affordable. Both are unique as for its multiples, use is often made of the casting technique. In the case of the multiples, the shapes are common in the assembly from a mold, for the unica multiple parts are molded separately, which are then later combined into a single unit.
His work hardly build on predecessors, only influences of foreign ceramicists were featured in his work. Jan van der Vaart greatly admired the German ceramicist
Hans Copers, and the English ceramicist
Lucie Rie
Dame Lucie Rie, (16 March 1902 – 1 April 1995) () was an Austrian-born British studio potter.
Life Early years and education
Lucie Gomperz was born in Vienna, Lower Austria, Austria-Hungary, the youngest child of Benjamin Gomperz, a Jewis ...
.
Gallery
Jan-van-der-vaart-signatuur.jpg, Signature
Jan_van_der_Vaart_-_Tulpenvaas_in_5_delen,_metallic_zwart_geglazuurd,_1962.jpg, Bronze tulip vase consisting of 5 parts, 1962
Jan_van_der_Vaart_-_Vaas_geglazuurd_in_nuancen_van_bruingrijs,_1965.jpg, Unicum in bronze glaze, 1965
Jan_van_der_Vaart_-_Vaas_in_S-vorm,_wit,_1975.jpg, Cast vase S-shaped, white glazed, 1975
Jan_van_der_Vaart_-_Vaas_in_S-vorm,_brons,_1975.jpg, Cast vase S-shaped, bronze-colored glazed, 1975
Jan_van_der_Vaart_-_Vaas_met_lila-roze_halfmatglazuur,_1979.jpg, Turned vase with lilac-pink half-mat glazed, 1979
Jan_van_der_Vaart_-_Vaas_met_vorm_van_platgedrukte_cilinder_die_halverwege_is_getordeerd,_1981.jpg, Cast vase, white glazed, 1981
Jan_van_der_Vaart_-_Vaas,_wit_glanzend_met_een_getordeerde_wand,_1985.jpg, Cast vase, white glazed with a twisted wall, 1985
Jan_van_der_Vaart_-_Tulpentoren_bestaande_uit_7_zeskantige_delen,_1988.jpg, Bronze pyramid consisting of seven hexagonal sections 1988
Atelier
![Atelier-jan-van-der-vaart-princessehof](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Atelier-jan-van-der-vaart-princessehof.jpg)
Since July 1, 2008, the
Princessehof Ceramics Museum
The Princessehof Ceramics Museum (in Dutch: Keramiekmuseum Princessehof) is a museum of ceramics in the city of Leeuwarden in the Netherlands. The museum's name comes from one of two buildings in which it is housed: a small palace ( means ‘royal ...
in Leeuwarden permanently exhibits the ceramics studio of Jan van der Vaart and its complete inventory.
The museum had received the inventory from the inherits on the basis of a long-term loan. It is the first permanent presentation of a ceramics studio in a museum in the Netherlands.
In the studio the production of molded ceramics is illustrated by original materials and tools of Van der Vaart. The arrangement shows models, semi-products and molds, turntable and mixer, spray booth, oven and a closet with "powders"; the pigments that color the glaze. In the background Van der Vaarts voice is heard. In an interview from a NPS radio show in 1997, he talks about what bothers him and he casually gives his ideas and secrets.
Exhibitions, a selection
* 1960. ''Jan van der Vaart and Herman Gordijn'',
Haagse Kunstkring
The Haagse Kunstkring (English The Hague Art Circle) is an association in The Hague for artists and art lovers. Among the members are visual artists, architects, writers, recitation artists, photographers, musicians and designers.
The association ...
.
* 1961. ''
Olga Oderkerk,
Henny Radijs, Jan van der Vaart,'' Kunsthandel Ina Broerse, Amsterdam.
* 1961. ''Solo,'' galerie Int Constigh Werck, Rotterdam.
* 1962. ''Six young ceramists from Amsterdam,''
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen
Municipal Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen () is an art museum in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The name of the museum is derived from the two most important collectors of Frans Jacob Otto Boijmans and Daniël George van Beuningen. It is located at ...
.
* 1964.
Groninger Museum
The Groninger Museum () is an art museum in the city of Groningen in the Netherlands. The museum exhibits modern and contemporary art of local, national, and international artists.
The museum opened in 1874. The current post-modernist building co ...
, Groningen.
* 1966. ''Solo,'' Kunsthandel Ina Broerse, Amsterdam.
* 1966. ''Jan v. d. Vaart en Arie de Groot,'' Galerie Maas, Rotterdam.
* 1997. ''Jan van der Vaart retrospective.''
Princessehof Ceramics Museum
The Princessehof Ceramics Museum (in Dutch: Keramiekmuseum Princessehof) is a museum of ceramics in the city of Leeuwarden in the Netherlands. The museum's name comes from one of two buildings in which it is housed: a small palace ( means ‘royal ...
, Leeuwarden.
Museums with Van der Vaarts work in their collection
*
Centraal Museum
The Centraal Museum is the main museum in Utrecht, Netherlands, founded in 1838. The museum has a wide-ranging collection, mainly of works produced locally. The collection of the paintings by the Northern Mannerist Joachim Wtewael is by a lon ...
, Utrecht.
* CODA (Apeldoorn).
*
Frans Hals Museum
The Frans Hals Museum is a museum located in Haarlem, the Netherlands.
The museum was established in 1862. In 1950, the museum was split in two locations when the collection of modern art was moved to the '' Museum De Hallen'' (since 2018 called ...
, Haarlem.
*
Gemeentemuseum Den Haag
The Kunstmuseum Den Haag is an art museum in The Hague in the Netherlands, founded in 1866 as the Museum voor Moderne Kunst. Later, until 1998, it was known as Haags Gemeentemuseum, and until the end of September 2019 as Gemeentemuseum Den Haag. I ...
, Den Haag.
*
Groninger Museum
The Groninger Museum () is an art museum in the city of Groningen in the Netherlands. The museum exhibits modern and contemporary art of local, national, and international artists.
The museum opened in 1874. The current post-modernist building co ...
, Groningen.
* Instituut Collectie Nederland.
*
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen
Municipal Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen () is an art museum in Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The name of the museum is derived from the two most important collectors of Frans Jacob Otto Boijmans and Daniël George van Beuningen. It is located at ...
, Rotterdam.
*
Museum De Fundatie
Museum de Fundatie () is a museum for the visual arts in Zwolle, Netherlands. Museum de Fundatie forms part of the Hannema-de Stuers Foundation, to which Kasteel het Nijenhuis in Heino also belongs. Museum de Fundatie possesses a collection of vis ...
, Zwolle/Heino.
*
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.
It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
, New York, Verenigde Staten.
* Museum voor Moderne Kunst Arnhem.
* Nationaal Glasmuseum, Leerdam.
*
Princessehof Ceramics Museum
The Princessehof Ceramics Museum (in Dutch: Keramiekmuseum Princessehof) is a museum of ceramics in the city of Leeuwarden in the Netherlands. The museum's name comes from one of two buildings in which it is housed: a small palace ( means ‘royal ...
, Leeuwarden.
*
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (; Municipal Museum Amsterdam), colloquially known as the Stedelijk, is a museum for modern art, contemporary art, and design located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. .
*
Stedelijk Museum 's-Hertogenbosch
The Design Museum Den Bosch (previously: Stedelijk Museum 's-Hertogenbosch, SM's) is a museum for modern art in 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands.
Focus of the Design Museum
The Design Museum focuses on contemporary visual arts and design. It ...
.
[Schenkingen aan het Stedelijk Museum 's-Hertogenbosch]
" ''hetklaverblad.nl,'' 28.05.2018. Accessed 29.11.2019.
*
Stedelijk Museum Schiedam
The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (; Municipal Museum Amsterdam), colloquially known as the Stedelijk, is a museum for modern art, contemporary art, and design located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. .
*
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
, London, United Kingdom.
; Work in corporate collections
* KPN Art Collection
* TNT art collection
* Schiphol art collection
See also
*
List of Dutch ceramicists
References
Further reading
* Erik Beender (ed). ''Jan van der Vaart , Keramiek,'' Amsterdam: Veen/Reflex, 1991,
* Allaard Hidding. ''Jan van der Vaart: multipels 1967-1997,'' Keramiek Museum 'Het Princessehof', Leeuwarden, 1997.
External links
*
Vaart, Jan van derat capriolus.nl
Works of Jan van der Vaartat
Keramiekmuseum Princessehof
The Princessehof Ceramics Museum (in Dutch: Keramiekmuseum Princessehof) is a museum of ceramics in the city of Leeuwarden in the Netherlands. The museum's name comes from one of two buildings in which it is housed: a small palace ( means ‘royal ...
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaart, Jan van der
1931 births
2000 deaths
Dutch ceramists
Artists from The Hague
Willem de Kooning Academy alumni
Academic staff of Gerrit Rietveld Academie
20th-century ceramists