1881 Dordrecht – 1955 Santpoort
A Kerosene Lamp and a Coffeepot on a Petrol Stove, 1903
black ink on paper, 500 x 330 mm.
signed and dated lower right: DN 1903
exhibited:
Arnhem, Gemeentemuseum, Dirk Nijland (1881-1955): schilderijen, grafiek, tekeningen, 9 december 1978 – 5 February 1979, no. 72;
Assen, Drents Museum and Helmond, Gemeentemuseum, Dirk Nijland (1881-1955) : schilderijen, grafiek, tekeningen, 1993.
literature:
Marijo Ariëns-Volker, Dirk Nijland 1881-1955, 1993, illustrated p. 22. no. 22
Rendered in black ink, this powerful drawing depicts a kerosene lamp and a coffee pot placed on a petroleum stove. Rather than striving for a strictly naturalistic description, Dirk Nijland—an accomplished draftsman—imbues the still life with a sense of animation and inner presence. The objects, though recognizable, are monumentally enlarged, isolated, and removed from a specific setting, allowing them to function as carriers of mood and meaning rather than as ordinary household appliances.
The drawing can be characterized as Symbolist in intent. Strong contrasts of light and dark, combined with emphatic modeling, generate a charged, almost theatrical atmosphere. Light is not employed to describe material reality with precision, but to evoke psychological tension and emotional intensity. In this way, the work aligns with Symbolist ambitions to express an underlying spiritual or inner reality through visible form.
The composition bears affinities with Vincent van Gogh’s early still lifes in its expressive treatment of everyday objects. As in Van Gogh’s work, bold contours, rhythmic lines, and heightened contrasts lend the forms a sense of emotional force and monumentality. The isolation of the objects and the absence of a fully articulated spatial context further amplify their symbolic resonance, transforming the still life into an image of inward intensity rather than outward observation.
Dirk Nijland was an important Dutch artist during the first half of the twentieth century. He was born into a wealthy family. His career and work are defined by independence. Unlike most of his contemporaries, who had to earn a living from their profession, Nijland did not follow the latest stylistic trends in order to please potential buyers, but sought his own path. His work is modern and his compositions often transmit an atmosphere of stillness and contemplation. Nijland found inspiration for his subjects in his immediate surroundings and his compositions stand out because of their unobtrusiveness. He was an extraordinary draughtsman and had a special talent for arranging intriguing compositions.
In 1901, Nijland’s work was first presented in the Netherlands at the First International Exhibition in The Hague. This exhibition was co-organized by Jan Toorop. Nijland’s drawings were shown there alongside works by Toorop, Vincent van Gogh, James Ensor, Paul Cézanne, Eduard Vuillard and other contemporaries. His work was positively received from the beginning.
The house Nijland grew up in was filled with avant-garde art. His father Hidde Nijland had been a very talented art collector, who was good friends with the influential artist and exhibition organizer Jan Toorop and owned more than a hundred drawings by Vincent van Gogh. Supported by his father, fifteen-year-old Dirk began his career as an artist as an apprentice in of Antoon Derkinderen in Laren. He continued his education at the Rijksschool voor Kunstnijverheid Amsterdam and the Academie van Beeldende Kunsten en Technische Wetenschappen in Rotterdam. At the end of his artistic training in the Netherlands, young Nijland aspired to an international career at the center of the international avant-garde.
In the spring of 1900, Nijland left for Brussels. Toorop, the only Dutch member of the avant-garde circle Les Vingt, probably introduced him to the right people there. In Brussels, Nijland concentrated mainly on drawing. Furthermore, his interest in socialism is reflected in his work. In 1901 and 1902 he worked in Brussels and in Paris where the work of Georges Seurat and the late paintings of Vincent van Gogh were important sources of inspiration. The invitation to submit work to the exhibition of the artist circle La Libre Esthetique shows that he was beginning to break through as an artist in Brussels. It never came to a participation at the exhibition because Nijland was too eager to return to the Netherlands. He married Marie van der Meer de Walcheren in Belgium and, via a brief detour to Florence, returned to the Netherlands in circa 1904.
Nijland and his family settled in Rhoon a small town nearby Rotterdam in 1905. Around 1915, Nijland met Hendricus Bremmer, a highly influentialDutch painter, art critic, art teacher, collector and art dealer. Bremmer would have a relatively large influence on the development of Nijland’s career in the following years. Nijland was not dependent on financial support from the influential art critic and pedagogue. The most valuable thing Bremmer could offer Nijland was dialogue and advice. Bremmer advised the artist to concentrate more on the medium of woodcut. His prints are among the best produced in the Netherlands during this period. Bremmer references Nijland’s work in a number publications and several of his students acquired work by Nijland. The best known is probably Helene Kröller-Müller who purchased dozens of paintings, drawings and prints by Dirk Nijland.