Quite a word

Ans (Anna Maria) Wortel ( October 18, 1929 in Alkmaar , Netherlands - December 4, 1996 in Hilvarenbeek , Netherlands) was a Dutch painter, poet and author. She made gouaches and oil paintings, watercolors, drawings, collages, lithographs, etchings, sculptures and glass sculptures. She was self-taught and won first prize at the Paris Biennale in 1963. She was one of the leading artists in Dutch post-war art.

Painting style

Wortel's work is strongly autobiographical. Her experiences as a girl, woman, mother and as an artist were the main source of her inspiration. Common themes are human emotions, love, relationships, mother-child relationships, and social criticism.

A personal style was sought until the late 1950s. Artworks from this period vary and show features from different artists, such as Katsushika Hokusai , Willem de Kooning , Marc Chagall , Pablo Picasso , Wifredo Lam, and Karel Appel . In the late 1950s, her artistic style finally flows into her own style, which is best described as abstract figurative art. It often consists of naked women, men or children, sometimes recognizable, but always deformed. These human figures are together, looking for each other, hugging each other or repelling each other. The figures are in unspecified rooms. The moon, the sun and the contours of the earth are often present in her work. Her work is often accompanied by handwritten poetic lines.

Exhibitions

• 1960 De Posthoorn, The Hague, Netherlands.
• 1962 International watercolor exhibition, city on Lake Constance in Friedrichshafen, Germany.
• 1963 Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (City Museum), The Netherlands. Museum van Bommel van Dam , Venlo, the Netherlands.
• 1964 Gemeentemuseum Den Haag , The Hague, Netherlands. Center Cultural, São Paulo, Brazil. Prinzenhof Municipal Museum , Delft, Netherlands.
• 1965 Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (City Museum), Netherlands.
• 1966 Rotterdam Art Circle. Plasmolen exhibition in Mook, the Netherlands.
• 1967 Smithsonian Institution , Washington DC, United States.
• 1968 Salon Européen de Femme, Nancy , France. Salon Artistes Feminine, Paris, France. Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (City Museum), Netherlands. Museum van Bommel van Dam , Venlo, the Netherlands.
• 1969 Curaçao Museum, Willemstad, Curaçao. Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (City Museum), Netherlands. Museum Waterland, Purmerend, Netherlands. The Märkisches Museum der Stadt Witten - Duisburger Session, Duisburg, Germany. Museum Fodor, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
• 1970 De Vaart, Hilversum, Netherlands.
• 1971 In-Art Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Hengelo Arthall, Hengelo, Netherlands. Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (City Museum), Netherlands.
• 1972 Dwór Artusa (Artus Court), Gdansk, Poland.
• 1973 Art and Glass - Van Tetterode Glass Industry, Amsterdam. Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (City Museum), Netherlands.
• 1974 Museum van Bommel van Dam , Venlo. De Latemse Galerie, Sint-Martens-Latem, Belgium. Museum Oud Hospitaal, Aalst, Belgium.
• 1975 Olympia International Art Center, Kingston, Jamaica.
• 1976 Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar, The Netherlands.
• 1977 Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (City Museum), The Netherlands. Exhibition Year of the Child for Unicef , Turnhout, Belgium.
• 1980 Temple Gallery, Willemstad, Curaçao.
• 1986 Stedelijk Museum Woerden, Netherlands.
• 1988 Café In the Cradle, New York, USA.
• 1989 Galerie De Lelie, Antwerp, Belgium.
• 1994 Museum De Koperen Knop, Hardinxveld-Giessendam, The Netherlands. Exhibition Heuf, Aruba. Van Reekum Museum, Apeldoorn, Netherlands.
• 2001 Museum Beeldentuin Nic Jonk, Grootschermer, Netherlands.
• 2013 Jan van der Togt Museum, Amstelveen, Netherlands.
• 2018 Museum Kranenburgh, Bergen NH, The Netherlands.

Contributions to events

• 1969 Design of costumes and sets for Laat dat (let that) performed by the Scapino Ballet at the City Theater in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
• 1970 Simca Show Alkmaar, Alkmaar, Netherlands.
• 1975 International Women's Year, First International Women's Art Exhibition. (Wortel represented the Netherlands)
• 1976 Art Festival 1976 Belgium / Netherlands.
• 1977 Institut Néerlandais, 20th anniversary (20th anniversary), Paris, France.
• 1983 The National Book Festival, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
• 1991 Altea Culture Festival, Spain
• 1993 TNO Gallery, The Netherlands. (Wortel also made a large 3 × 8 meter glass artwork for the TNO building).
• 1993 National Women's Day in Loon op Zand City Hall , Netherlands.
• 1994 National Women's Day at Delft University of Technology , The Netherlands.

Book publications

• Poetry book, untitled (1959, handmade limited edition)
• Preken en prenten (preaches and prints) (1969, Tor, ISBN 90-70055-05-8 )
• Voor ons de Reizede vlezen rots ... (For us the hiking rock made of meat ...) (1970, De Bezige Bij, ISBN 90-234-5114-7 )
• Voor die ziet met mijn soort ogen, door wiens ogen ik kan zien (For those who see with my eyes, through whose eyes I can see) (1970, handcrafted limited edition)
• Wat ik vond en verloor (What I found and lost) (1972, Tor, ISBN 90-70055-14-7 )
• Lessen aan die ikiehheb (Lessons for Those I Love) (1973, Tor, ISBN 90-70055-15-5 )
• Poems 1959-1963 (poems 1959-1963) (1989, Ans Wortel, De Fontijn, ISBN 90-261-0334-4 )
• Autobiography in 5 volumes
  • Een mens van onze soort (One of our kind) (1982, De Fontijn, ISBN 90-261-2121-0 )
  • In de bloei van 't leven, noemen ze dat (In the prime of life they call it) (1983, De Fontijn, ISBN 90-261-2139-3 )
  • Noem mij maar Jon (Just call me Jon) (1983, De Fontijn, ISBN 90-261-2157-1 )
  • Onderweg in Amsterdam (On the way in Amsterdam) (1984, De Fontijn, ISBN 90-261-0178-3 )
  • Nannetje ... (Nannetje ...) (1986, De Fontijn, ISBN 90-261-0250-X )

literature

• 500 years of Dutch painting (1976, Onno ter Kuile, Pawlak Verlag Herrsching, Ammersee).

Web links

• Ans Wortel overview of paintings 1940-1996 (Dutch)
• Ans Wortel website (Dutch)
• [artist = Wortel% 2C + Ans directory of literature on Ans Wortel]

Individual evidence

1. ^ Biography portal of the Netherlands
2. ↑ Winkler Prins Encyclopedia (1988, Elsevier, ISBN 90-1002-3249 )
3. ^ Daily newspaper De Tijd - Maasbode, January 4th 1960, 115th year, number 37371
4. ^ Opening of the 2013 Ans Wortel exhibition at Museum Jan van der Togt, Amstelveen, Netherlands on YouTube
5. ↑ Theater encyclopedia: 'Laat dat' (in German: "lass das"), debut on September 7, 1969
6. ^ Ans Wortel, B. Hiltermann and M. de Geus, Warmenhuizen, ISBN 978-94-6190-093-7
7. ↑ Library of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.