Johan Buning

Johannes Norbertus Buning (Amsterdam, June 19, 1893 - April 26, 1963) was a Dutch painter.

The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and Museum Henriette Polak in Zutphen (Netherlands) have included Johan Buning's works in their collection.

Portret van Johan en Titia Buning

After the death of his wife Titia Buning-Brongers in 1961, Johan Buning founded a foundation in memory of his wife. This foundation, which has been called the Buning Brongers Foundation, awards the Buning Brongers Prizes for young promising painters every two years. 

Portret van Johan en Titia Buning

ISOLATION (Cách ly) - Music by Hoàng Ngọc-Tuấn

ISOLATION is a guitar solo improvised by Hoàng Ngọc-Tuấn during the COVID-19 pandemic, recorded by Hoàng Ngọc Quỳnh using a Canon camera and a Focusrite audio interface.

Visual effects are designed by Hoàng Huệ Yên.

Denis Guédon - Video Tribute

Following my post of 22 July on the passing of Denis Guédon, here some videos of the master at work at his atelier in Oloron Sainte Marie.

Adishatz Denis!

Thanks Wayne

Herbert Fiedler (2)

Herbert Fiedler's roots lie in eastern Germany, in his native town of Leipzig and in Dresden where he attended the Royal Academy of Art. 

Herbert Fiedler was already drawing and painting at the age of eleven. When he finished school, he studied at the Academy in Dresden. From the start, Fiedler's real school was drawing and painting in the open and discussions with his student friends including George Grosz. In 1912, he briefly shared a flat and studio in Berlin with the latter. They would roam the capital together, drawing the streets, strollers, citizens and prostitutes in their sketchbooks.

In 1913 Fiedler went to Paris, at the time the Mecca of art. But the First World War broke out at this promising point in his life and he had to return to Germany in a hurry. Fiedler was conscripted and returned to Berlin wounded.

The Twenties were not particularly golden years for Fiedler, and at times he kept his head above water by working for the UFA film studios. 

In 1931, Fiedler returned to Paris for several months and met his future wife, the Swiss painter Amrey Balsiger. In 1934 Herbert Fiedler turned his back on fascist Germany. In the Netherlands, he had to practically start from scratch. Until 1940 he lived in the artists' village of Laren close to Amsterdam. Laren was where he first developed his own individual style. 

Many of his pictures depict Amsterdam, the city where he lived from 1940 until his death in 1962. 

Due to the circumstances of his life and the age he lived in, Herbert Fiedler was an extremely interesting witness to an eventful time: in Paris he experienced the heyday of the avant garde there, in Berlin the turmoil and artistic diversity of the Twenties, in the Netherlands the war years and the post-war controversy of abstract versus representational art. 

Leonid Sologub

Leonid Romanovich Sologub was born in Yeysk of the Krasnodar Territory. He studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture followed by the architecture department of St. Petersburg Arts Academy from 1902.

Leonid Sologub was friends with the artist Mikhail Larionov. He participated in exhibitions of the World of Art group in Moscow and St. Petersburg in 1912 – 1913 and became its member in 1918. In 1912 he founded the Association of Painters, Architects and Sculptors.

The artist volunteered to the front during World War I and was awarded the St George's Cross. His front-line sketches were published in the Niva magazine. In 1916 Leonid Sologub had an exhibition of life studies and drawings At the War.

From 1919 the artist travelled across China, Japan (even had his personal exhibition in Tokyo), Ceylon, India, Greece, Italy, and Constantinople. In 1922 he moved to Holland and settled in Hague. The same year he displayed his Constantinople landscapes in the Autumn Salon and held his personal exhibition in R. Duncan’s Gallery in Paris. Leonid Sologub participated in the Big Exhibition of Russian Art in Belgrade in 1930 and the Russian Art Exhibition in La Renaissance Gallery in Paris in 1932. He lived a very active artistic life in the Hague with repeated personal exhibitions. His works were exhibited in Salon des Independants (1928 – 1930) too. Over 350 works by Leonid Sologub are kept in the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow.

Dora Tuynman

Dutch artist Dora Tuynman (1926-1979) left for Paris in 1951 after she had been rejected by the Rijksacademie in Amsterdam. In Paris, she participated fully in the life at Rue Santeuil, where Appel, Corneille and other Cobra artists also had their studios. She abandoned her understated style and in stead made colourful, abstract works with exuberant use of paint. This development culminated in the 1960s in powerful abstract expressionist works.

Here Dora is pictured in Paris, 1961 or 1962. Photo by Cor Dekkinga. 

Emile "Bro" Kolthoff: 63!

Yep, that time of year again...

63 years since my good brother (also known as The Beret Spy) was born on Staten Island, New York.

Thanks for the good spy-work Bro, even though covid19 has minimized your productiveness the last 1.5 years...

Happy Birthday (Beret Project visitor's good wishes will be passed on)!

Fred Carasso

Fred Carasso (Frederico Antonio Carasso, 1899 - 1969) was a Dutch sculptor.

In 1922, two weeks after Benito Mussolini's seizure of power, he moved to Paris, where he worked as a carpenter. Because of his political activism, he was expelled from France in 1928, which happened to him again in Brussels in 1933. He eventually found refuge in the Netherlands, which became his new homeland.

Nevertheless, Carasso still had his first exhibition in Brussels in 1933, albeit under the pseudonym Fred Deltor. In addition to drawings, photo collages, he also showed four small sculptures. In Amsterdam he was able to develop as a sculptor and he was included in the Circle of Amsterdam Sculptors. In 1938 Carasso exhibited for the first time in the Netherlands. In 1956 he was appointed professor of sculpture at the Jan van Eyck Academy in Maastricht, succeeding Oscar Jespers.

Berets in Cajun Country

These great photos were sent to me by Andy. Great work, thanks Andy!

Cajun music accordionist Zachary Richard at the Corner Bar in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, 1982. Photo by Elemore Morgan, Jr.

Terrance Simien, Zydeco accordionist, with C.J. Chenier and Paul Simon. Lafayette, Louisiana, 1991. Photo by Philip Gould.

Adishatz, Denis Guédon

I am incredibly sad to have lost a friend and a master-mentor in the world of berets.

Denis Guédon has died on 21 July at the age of 64 years.

Denis, or simply 'Guédon' as I used to call him, was a treasure chest full of knowledge on berets, the history and manufacturing of berets and of the beret's place in Béarnais culture.

Guédon's berets were and are the very best the world has ever seen and I feel lucky and am proud to have journeyed together with Guédon.

Thank you, Guédon.

Adishatz,

Daan (bonetaire)

(For aficionados who are keen to order one of the few Auloronesa berets made by Denis Guédon that I have left in stock, please contact me here.)

Hobbits in France

If you can't afford to come to New Zealand to visit the Lord of the Rings filming locations... No problem ! 

You just have to go to Fère-en-Tardenois in the Aisne (France) where boinero Christophe built three Hobbit houses.

In this video he explains how it all came about. If you also want to spend a night in this atypical accommodation, click here.

Thanks Thomas

Willem Reijers

Wilhelmus Ludovicus (Willem) Reijers (1910 - 1958) was a Dutch painter, illustrator and sculptor.

Reijers was a member of the artists' group Free Images (1947). In 1948 four of his sculptures were part of the Dutch entry for the Venice Biennale. Reijers was only active as a sculptor for about ten years. He left behind a small oeuvre of experimental work, which was placed throughout the Netherlands. Reijers' last work was "Het Verkeer" (Traffic)  for the Emma Bridge in the city of Groningen. 

He died before it could be cast in bronze. The work was completed by Wessel Couzijn and unveiled by Reijers' widow in 1959.

Cor van Teeseling

Cornelis Gerardus (Cor) van Teeseling (1915 - 1942) was a Dutch artist and resistance fighter.

As a visual artist he took an active part in the resistance against the rising fascism. After the February strike of 1941, Van Teeseling became active in the resistance newspaper De Waarheid.

In August 1941, Van Teeseling was arrested by the German occupier. On November 10, 1941, he was sentenced to death. He was locked up on death row at the Weteringschans prison in Amsterdam. In August 1942 he was transferred to the Wehrmacht prison at Gansstraat in Utrecht. On November 19, 1942 he was executed near Soesterberg. During his stay on death row in Amsterdam, Van Teeseling made almost daily self-portraits that were published shortly after his death. Soon after his death, his work was recognized as portraying the human drama of World War II. 

Van Teeseling himself also saw his drawings as a possible source of income for his wife after his death. However, his wife managed to preserve the collection of more than a hundred drawings.

Facing Stone at Dutch Factory

Facing stone with the text "Presented by the staff at the opening of this building in May 1953".

The facing stone shows a worker with beret, pipe, nuts, rivets and cogwheels in high relief. By artist Hans Petri, 1953. 

Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam

Service in the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam on Hosjana Raba, the seventh day of Sukkot.

A photo series by Leonard Freed.

Kosher Cheese

A photo by Jenny E. Wesly, at the Stam cheese factory in Vianen (Netherlands).

An elderly man in a beret is holding some kosher stamps in his hand, while a young man with a kippah on his head is watching.

Ben Lopes Cardozo

Ben (Benjamin) Lopes Cardozo (1887 – 1942) was a Jewish diamond merchant from Amsterdam and a member of the Communist Workers' Party in the Netherlands.

Benjamin committed suicide, the day before he had to wear the Star of David, as decreed by the Nazi occupier.

Insula College

Mosaic in the hall of the Insula College (highschool) in Dordrecht, Netherlands.

The laying of the mosaic:

Story of Women

Story of Women (French: Une affaire de femmes) is a 1988 French drama film directed by Claude Chabrol based on the true story of Marie-Louise Giraud, guillotined on July 30, 1943, for having performed 27 abortions in the Cherbourg area, and the book by Francis Szpiner.

The film premiered at the 45th Venice International Film Festival, in which Isabelle Huppert was awarded the prize for best actress.

Berend Hendriks

Berend Hendriks (1918 –1997) was a Dutch artist, and lecturer at the ArtEZ Academy of fine art in Arnhem. Together with Peter Struycken he initiated the Arnhem school of environmental art.

Hendriks, son of an arborist from Apeldoorn, was initially destined to follow into his father's footsteps. He attended the horticultural school in Boskoop, but finally opted for a career in the visual arts. He continued his studies at the Rijksacademie in Amsterdam, where he studied with Heinrich Campendonk. After graduating he developed into a versatile artist; painter, glass painting, wall painting, monumental artist, environmental artist, sculptor, ceramist and maker of mosaic.

Environmental works of Hendriks can be found in public space in Amersfoort, Gouda and Hengelo. His paintings are characterized by geometric shapes, in which he uses mathematical sequences, both in content and color.

Painting of Berend Hendriks by Esther Eggink

Nehalennia

Ganuenta was an settlement of roman antiquity near the Zeelandic place Colijnsplaat (Netherlands). It was situated on the southern shore of the river Scheldt.

Replica of the temple of Nehalennia at Colijnsplaat

There was a tempel for the goddess Nehalennia here. Little is known about Nehalennia, but it must have been a Celtic or Germanic goddess. She had power over trade and seafaring. 

Fisherman K.J. Bout

On 14 April 1970 fisherman K.J. Bout found parts of an altar to Nehalennia in his nets, while he was fishing near Colijnsplaat. Focussed searches in 1970 and 1971 (and later in 1974) resulted in the finds of about 240 altars and statues, votive stones and remains of a roman building. These are now stored and displayed in the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden. These were found in the Schaar of Colijnsplaat, a fairway in the Eastern Scheldt, where the temple of Nehalennia once stood.

Cornelis van Rootselaar

Cornelis van Rootselaar was educated by the Franciscan fathers, which influenced his paintings later in life. 

After primary school he learned the trade of a house painter and was apprenticed to Willem Gestel in The Hague. He became friends with his son Leo, later a well-known painter. In 1903 he became a painter's assistant to the widow Dieuwertje Beemster-Huisman (Huesmann) from Wervershoof. He married her two years later and would live in Wervershoof all his life. Cornelis van Rootselaar has become known as a leisure painter. In his work he was strongly inspired by the Bible, but in addition to religious images, he painted landscapes, village scenes, craft scenes, special events, houses, animals, portraits and self-portraits and he captured characteristic West Frisian scenes for posterity.