Stuff Jos van der Woude cares about

Today we visited the Groninger Museum for a special exhibition of one of the 'Ploeg' painters: Jan Altink.
As usual I shot a lot of photos of the paintings.

This particular painting is called 'After the visit' and it was painted in 1925. I like it.

Today we attended an one man show in the theater in Groningen. It is an act not easily classified. Basically he told us about his own family during the 19th and 20th centuries in Indonesia. The effect was a powerful story about the past of the Netherlands as a colonial power and the Second World War in Asia. These are subjects not easily talked about here and his show caused quite a stir. Many now very old people who lived through that and never before shared their experiences, spoke up after seeing this show. Very powerful stuff.


In the fall of 2012 Diederik van Vleuten will start a new show using the same concept. This time about the first world war. I am looking forward to it.

At school I learned that St. Boniface, apostle of Germans, was murdered near Dokkum in the year 752.
Today Dokkum is a very pleasant town in the north of The Netherlands with a little museum dedicated to Boniface.
This is what I learned there. Boniface was born an Englishman near what is now Exeter in Devon in the year 675. When he was killed on June 5th in 752 he was already an old man with a very impressive clergical and political career. What were his accomplishments? He christianized a huge area of Europe what is now mainly Eastern Germany and founded monasteries and bishop seats all over the place. He was an excellent organizer. The borders of the bishop seats he founded are mostly still in use today. With papal letters in hand he organized the local churches in the tradition of Rome. This made him not very popular among the Christian Frankish and Gallic rulers, who had their own ambitions to extend their territories Eastward and did not need an Englishman to meddle in their affairs in their own backyard. To make matters worse, the local Frankish and Gallic churches had deviated considerably from the doctrines of Rome and Boniface was tireless in his efforts to point this out to the local nobility. In short the local christian rulers had plenty of reasons for wanting to get rid of Boniface. So did these Frankish rulers have a hand in organizing the murder of Boniface by the heathen Frisians near Dokkum? We will never know for sure.

The Frisians were punished severely for their horrible crime and most men in Dokkum were butchered and the women were taken back home as trophy. The rest were forcibly Christianized. This did not last very long. In the year 800 the Frisians collectively reverted to paganism and only some time after that the Frankish rulers subdued and converted the proud Frisians again. This time it did last.


Boniface's many travels throughout Europe.

Today we went to the agriculture museum in Eernewoude, Friesland. The reason was that we wanted to see one of the historic shedders made by my father's company in the 50's and 60's. Alas it was not on display. We did see an early example of a Combine made out of timber! The form and shape of it looks familiar, I just had never seen one made out of wood.

Believe it or not, there actually was an Avant Garde movement in the town of Drachten, The Netherlands in the beginning of the 20th century. The movement was spearheaded by two brothers, The Rinsema's, otherwise engaged as cobblers in the same town. Today we went to the museum in Drachten to see the special exhibition.

Thijs Rinsema, Flowers, little statue and book, 1943

Tonight we went to the Opera in Amsterdam. Kitesh, a Russian opera by Nicolay Rimski-Korsakov from 1907.

This opera has never before been performed in the Netherlands and it is a production on a scale seldom seen here. The story is about the choice between good or bad, positive or negative. Everlasting bliss, so we learn from the pure Fevronia, does not come when complaining about your sufferings, but from showing happiness and compassion for others. It was a rare insight into the Russian soul of the beginning of the 20th century.

A friend of mine Kees has a really nice tradition going. Every year on - or near - his birthday he organizes a walk for family and friends. This walk always follows the same route through the dunes and along the beach near his home town of Beverwijk, The Netherlands.


I have participated twice now and really enjoyed it. How many birthday parties have you attended in which you basically sat around a table in a living room?

For the second time I was the photographer for the occasion. All of the pictures are here.

Today we visited the Jan Sluijters exhibition in the Singer Museum , Laren. This is one of those museums we never before got around to visit. The painting which struck me most was one of a dance hall in Paris painted in 1907 called Bal Tabarin. This was one of the first dance halls were electric lights were installed to impress the clientele, I am sure.
The impression the electric lights made on the sensitive retina of the artist is shown here.

Skating on the canals in Utrecht February 4th 2012. Just like those old famous Avercamp paintings.

Today colleague Berni Drop left the Interstudie NDO offices for the last time. Her she is accompanied by Ton van Wanroij. Berni is leaving Interstudie NDO for a new position as princicpal of the Montessori College in Arnhem.


As usual I shot the pictures for this occasion.