KEES VAN DONGEN
reputation, van Dongen received many commissions for society portraits. Along with the infamous parties he hosted, he became the centre of fashionable life. His works were simultaneously shocking and popular.
THIS UNUSUAL COMBINATION—shocking yet popular—is still apparent in the ‘All Eyes on Kees van Dongen’ exhibition at the impressive Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam (on until January 23). Walking around the exhibition, the works are still striking, powerful and shocking. Anita Hopmans, the curator of the
exhibition and Chief Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art for the RKD (Netherlands Institute for Art History), says van Dongen delighted in pushing the boundaries. ‘His images were not always likeable, as
they offended the criteria of what high art was. In his self-portrait of 1922 you could say he is offending art. The artist is not a hero in his studio, instead he portrays himself as Neptune. It is playful and challenging at the same time.’ Instead of following the Cubist trend like his
contemporaries, van Dongen’s colours simply became more intense as his career developed, evolving into ‘an exaggeration of form and
Left: Woman in Blue, 1911 Below: A Finger on her Cheek, 1910
In 1906, he moved to the Bateau-Lavoir
in Montmartre, where Picasso also had his studio. This was a centre for artists at the time and also closely associated with the anarchist movement. Van Dongen was himself an anarchist, contributing regularly to left-wing journals and practicing the ‘free love’ philosophy the movement supported. His work reflects this, often celebrating a raw sexuality, particularly with his female nudes. His political and cultural sensibilities can also be seen in his works in posters and newspapers, which blurred the lines between high and low art. His life was considered as scandalous as his
74 COLLECTIONS INTERNATIONAL
‘It is difficult to compare him because he has his own quality.’
paintings—he soon became known as a socialite and womaniser. In 1913, a nude painting of his wife Guus (named Spanish Shawl and later called Tableau) was ordered to be removed from the Salon d’Automne by the Minister of Culture on the grounds of alleged indecency. When the exhibition was over and the painting was returned to him, van Dongen proudly displayed the controversial work in his studio. Despite, or perhaps because of his racy
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