DR H.P. BREMMER Still Life with Books

Details

A carefully arranged collection of books. On most of the spines the titles cannot be read, except on the book that already stands out due to its light colour and central position: Le Rêve by Émile Zola. Behind it we can still read the words Ex Libris: the painting shows part of someone's book collection. The contents of someone's bookcase says much about who they are. This makes the painting a sort of portrait, perhaps of Bremmer himself.

Henricus Petrus Bremmer was one of the most influential figures in the Dutch art world of the first half of the twentieth century. But not as a painter. Bremmer became known as an art educator and theorist. That is why it is remarkable to see a painting by someone who taught an entire generation how to look at art. Bremmer found his true calling in art appreciation and in guiding collectors and artists. From 1906 onwards he published his ideas in books such as Eene inleiding tot het zien van beeldende kunst (An Introduction to Seeing Visual Art) and Praktische Aesthetica (Practical Aesthetics). He gave courses in art appreciation, particularly to well-to-do ladies, and built up a large network of artists, collectors and art dealers. His judgement was considered authoritative, and his influence was so great that he soon became known as the 'art pope of the Netherlands'.

Bremmer was active as an artist for only a short period. He painted particularly between 1890 and 1895—refined, subtly executed still lifes, landscapes and interiors. Intimate subjects, crafted in a pointillist style. This was the sort of art for which he would always retain a preference and which at this time was even called 'Bremmerian'. He believed that a painting should have a 'humble' subject, a corner of an interior, a simple landscape or a still life with everyday objects. His pointillist style was very modern at the time and had been introduced to the Netherlands by Jan Toorop. Bremmer placed countless small dots of paint in different colours next to each other, giving his work a tranquil, almost meditative atmosphere. Reviews were often laudatory, and when they were less positive, Bremmer regarded this as proof that he was part of the avant-garde.

Bremmer believed that the artist's personality should speak through a work of art. 'Truthfulness' and 'true to life' were key concepts in his teaching on how to 'learn to see art', which he called 'Practical Aesthetics'. It is therefore not the subject that is essential, but the way in which the artist managed to find a form to convey his emotion to the viewer, through line, form, colour and composition. In doing so, he drew upon symbolist theories, Spinoza's Ethics and the ideas of the Tachtigers, the younger generation of Dutch writers and artists at the end of the nineteenth century. The personality and emotions of the artist were important, because art was, according to the poet Kloos, 'the most individual expression of the most individual emotion'. The choice of Zola's Le Rêve in the book still life takes on a deeper meaning in this light. Zola was admired by the Tachtigers but also by Vincent van Gogh, who wrote in a letter: "Zola says: 'In the work of art I seek the man, the artist...' There, I find that completely true." Bremmer shared this conviction, and the prominent place of the book in his painting is therefore no coincidence. The still life thereby becomes a programmatic statement about art: the artist shows himself through the books that inspire him.

Bremmer was one of the first to understand the importance of Vincent van Gogh, an artist who certainly met the Bremmerian ideal. About him Bremmer published the book 'Vincent van Gogh. Inleidende beschouwingen' (Vincent van Gogh. Introductory Observations) in 1911. Bremmer ensured that Van Gogh's work became better known in the Netherlands. As adviser to Helene Kröller-Müller, he ensured that she began collecting his work. The Kröller-Müller Museum, which emerged from this, now possesses the second largest Van Gogh collection in the world.