Lot 66: GEORGES VANTONGERLOO

GEORGES VANTONGERLOO BELGIAN 1886 - 1965 MOORED FISHING BOATS IN VOLENDAM dated 1915 l.l. oil on canvas 60 by 70 cm.

A. Thomas, Denkbilder. Materialen zur Entwicklung von Georges Vantongerloo bis 1921, Düsseldorf, Ed. Marzona 1987, illustrated on p. 15

Related Literature:
C. Brockhaus and H. Janssen, Georges Vantongerloo (1886-1965) en zijn omgeving, Zwolle 2009
J. Ceuleers, Georges Vantongerloo 1886-1965, Antwerp 2000
Exhibition catalogue, Georges Vantongerloo, Washington Corcoran Gallery of Art (& traveling), Brussels 1980

Estate Prof. Dr. Max Bill
Dr Angela Thomas Schmid

Georges Vantongerloo (1886-1965) is well-known in art history for his contribution to De Stijl and his involvement with the Parisian artist group Abstraction-Création. Vantongerloo's oeuvre primarily consisted of studies, paintings, sculptures and designs of early geometric abstraction and constructivism. The search for the connection between body and cosmos played a crucial role in his work. However, the artist started out with a figurative style. He gradually evolved from being an artist with an academic approach into a post-impressionistic painter until he meets modern painters in The Netherlands.

During World War I Vantongerloo was admitted to a Belgian hospital due to a gas attack of the German army in August 1914. When Vantongerloo was released from the hospital in October 1914, he fled to Wassenaar, a small suburb of The Hague. Until March 1915, Vantongerloo lived in Villa Persijn together with eighty-five other refugees. Dutch painters such as Willem Roelofs and Johan Hendrik van Mastenbroek offered their work in a charity raffle in order to support the artists in hiding. This allowed them to afford their own painting materials.

Vantongerloo soon learned about the drawings of Vincent van Gogh during an exhibition in The Hague at Kunstzaal d'Audretsch (Noordeinde 19). It was here that the artist became fascinated by the sketches of De Aardappeleters (The Potato Eaters) and this is often seen as the moment when he started working on Dutch themes during his stay in The Netherlands.
In 1915 Vantongerloo travelled to Volendam, where he made a variety of studies, such as charcoal (for example Fisherman from Volendam, 65,5 by 51cm., estate of the artist), sculptures and paintings of the local fishing community (for example Fisher wife, signed and dated 1915, 71,5 by 62cm., estate of the artist). The backgrounds and abstract faces are clearly inspired by the works by Van Gogh.
Vantongerloo did not only made portraits of Volendam residents, but also made charcoal studies (such as Fisher boats in port, 65,5 by 51cm., estate of the artist) and oil paintings of boats in the harbour such as the present work (lot 66) and Port de Volendam (see fig. 2).

In June 1915 Vantongerloo moved to The Hague. He met the futurist Jules Schmalzigaug there, who undoubtedly introduced him to contemporary art of that era. It did not take long after that until Vantongerloo met Theo van Doesburg (in 1918) and Piet Mondriaan (in Paris, 1920).
He became involved with the magazine and art movement De Stijl in 1917. In 1918, in a collaborated effort with Theo van Doesburg, Robert van 't Hoff, Vilmos Huszár, Anthony Kok, Piet Mondriaan and Jan Wils, he signed the first manifest of De Stijl.