Archief nummers

Paul Kruger as a stage hero and film star. The representation of the Boer War and the rise of nationalism in the Netherlands between 1899 and 1902.The dramatization of current events on stage and in film began to attract a large audience at the end of the nineteenth century. The Second Boer War (1899-1902) in South Africa between the Boer republics and Great Britain provided rich material for four plays, which were staged in popular theatres in a short space of time. Prior to that three theatre companies had hit the stage with sensational melodramas about the Dreyfus affair. The interest in visualization and dramatization of the news in theatre and film peaked around 1900. The rise of ‘newspaper dramatics’ coincided with a rare but fierce outburst of nationalism in the Netherlands. Film and theatre benefitted from the widespread enthusiasm for the nation and served as a catalyst to these passions at the same time. This study argues that the intensity, dissemination and duration of the nationalistic euphoria were fuelled to a large extent by the ascent of sensational spectacles, which unlike the press could generate strong emotions in halls packed with spectators. Because of these and other changes in the media landscape, the national consciousness could grow wings by the end of the century. Drawing upon little known publications of the playwright Herman Heijer mans and other sources, the article maintains that the Boer leader and president of the Transvaal Republic, Paul Kruger, owed his rise to popularity and stardom in the Netherlands as much to popular theatre and film as to the printing press.

The fame of ‘The Rhine’. Celebrity culture around Elias Annes Borger.No destiny has provoked so much compassion in the nineteenth century as that of the Frisian scholar and poet Elias Annes Borger (1784-1820). Although nowadays hardly anybody has heard of him, in the nineteenth century he was a well-known poet, though he only published a few poems for special occasions. Particularly famous at the time was the ‘The Rhine, in the spring of the year 1820’, which he wrote after the death of his second wife. Throughout the nineteenth century the poem became a cultural reference point in the Netherlands. Mainly because of this literary work, Borger posthumously received the position of a literary celebrity. This article analyses why the poem remained popular for such a long period of time. Furthermore, it explores the mythologization and ‘fan culture’ around Borger himself. The case of Borger is exemplary of the literary celebrity cult around a poet in the nineteenth century.

State Martyrs. Batavian Stoicism and the Political Imprisonment in Huis ten Bosch in 1798.After they had fallen victim to a coup d’état in January 1798, 22 former Members of Dutch Parliament were imprisoned in the ‘Batavian Bastille’ near The Hague. Alba Amicorum (friendship books) circulated amongst the prisoners in order to keep morality high. In this article, I give a detailed analysis of the inscriptions in these Alba, as a means to shed new light on the Dutch reception of Stoic philosophy at the turn of the nineteenth century. More specifically, the focus is on the Stoic theory of emotional restraint, which not only shapes our present-day understanding of Stoicism, but has also functioned as a model of conduct for the moderate revolutionaries of the Batavian Republic.

The picturesque between politics and private life. B.C. Koekkoek’s Luxembourg landscapes for king Willem II.This article reconstructs and interprets the commission by king Willem II to painter B.C. Koekkoek, for a series of nine Luxembourg landscapes in 1845. Its genesis is seen against the background of Willem’s patronage and art collection. On the one hand Koekkoek’s paintings confirm the usual image of the king as a nostalgic person, who collected out of a need to escape from the political reality. On the other hand, reading the paintings in the context of the political turmoil in Belgium and Luxembourg in 1830-1839 convincingly demonstrates that for Willem art could in fact have strong political connotations.

Against the Catholics or the constitution? Catholic views on the April-movement of 1853.In the month of April 1853 agitation originated among protestants in the Netherlands about the restoration of the hierarchy of the roman-catholic church. Massive protest-movements sprouted up and cumulated in the presentation of the Amsterdam address to the king. As a consequence the cabinet-Thorbecke resigned and was succeeded by the cabinet-Van Hall, after which peace returned. An interpretation, which has dominated the debate for a long time, is that the April-movement was an attempt of orthodox protestants and the king to prevent – in whatever form – the catholic emancipation in the Netherlands. Moreover, according this interpretation orthodox protestants and the king tried to use the April-movement to reverse the liberal revision of the constitution of 1848. Recently, the tide of historiography is turning. Upon closer examination it appears all kind of motives played a role in the April-movement, such as considerations and feelings of political, religious and nationalistic character. The analysis in this article strengthens the new interpretation of the April-movement by adding the perspective of Catholics. It appears that the response of Catholics was dictated by several, sometimes contradictory motives: respect for the pope, gratitude for the obligingness of the cabinet-Thorbecke, relief that they were finally granted equal rights in relation to the protestants, and understanding versus incomprehension of the protestant protest. On the one hand Catholics had difficulty with the protestant unrest, as it seemed to be aimed against their emancipation, while on the other hand they were very understanding, because the protestants were saddled with a fait accompli which was introduced with great aplomb. Accordingly, the traditional interpretation of the April-movement as a reactionary response of orthodox protestants loses further ground.

The Kinker Association in Liège (1886-c. 1913).The Kinker Association was founded in 1886 for the benefit of the many Dutch-speaking Flemings living and working in francophone Liège. Organizing lectures on a variety of subjects, the Association attempted to exert an emancipatory influence. Not only did it set up an extensive Dutch library but it also provided access to medical care and insurance. Above all, the Kinker Association wanted to boost the presence of Dutch-related cultural activities in the city. With its liberal sympathies and close links to the Willems Fonds, the Association met with opposition from various quarters, not least from the Catholic Church. This article looks in detail at the genesis, and rise and fall of the Association, its membership and its place and appeal within the wider socio-cultural context of late-nineteenth-century Wallonia.

‘Art is money’. Public policy with regard to art education in nineteenth century Belgium.At the turn of the eighteenth to the nineteenth century, art education in the southern Netherlands was still in its infancy. Artistic life however soon blossomed and the young Belgian nation that emerged in 1830 aspired a prominent cultural role on the European continent. Yet the part of politicians in the success of Belgian artists has always remained somewhat unclear. How were the relations between the major educational institutions and the national government? Did nineteenth century politicians care about art and if so, did they have clear ideas about cultural policy? This article explores their ideas about art education, as a part of an emerging national cultural policy.

From alley cat to puss. The emergence of the cat as a pet in the Netherlands in the nineteenth century.This article outlines the emergence of the cat as a pet in the Netherlands in the nine teenth century, in the context of similar developments in Great Britain, France and the United States. After a long history of on the one hand adoration and on the other demonization, the cat was generally accepted in the home as a pet in the late nineteenth century. On the basis of a wide scale study of literature, art, but especially contemporary newspaper articles, it has been possible to discern the steady rise in esteem of the cat throughout the nineteenth century. Artists appropriating the cat as an iconic symbol played a significant role in the process. At the other end of the scale, it was the urban middle-class who first adopted the cat as a domestic companion.

‘Against pastry-cooks and managing directors’. Dutch actors, sociability and countervailing power, c. 1900.Up to now, no systematic research has been done on the origin and development of independent actors’ interest groups circa 1900, an interesting period in the social and theatrical history of the Netherlands. This article takes a detailed look at the pioneering years and the circumstances of failing and fast demise of the first Dutch actors union (‘de Bond van Nederlandsche Tooneelisten’, 1898). Important roles in this union were played by both famous and anonymous actors, stage-managers and directors, as well as by the outstanding playwright Herman Heijermans. The creation and functioning of this early organisation are outlined within a broader scope of interpretation, i.e. social and theatrical developments in the Dutch fin de siècle.