Jan Hendrik Verstegen (1922-1993)

The oeuvre of Jan Hendrik Verstegen is rooted in the realistic painting of the thirties and forties that was popular throughout the whole of Europe. In the Netherlands it was the 'magic realists' such as Carel Willink and Pyke Koch, and surrealists such as Joop Moesman and Melle, who expressed, in their painting, the erstwhile ubiquitous feeling of alienation and threat. His most famous painting is 'Tyrannie der Stalen Helmen' (Tyranny of the Steel Helmets), dating from 1947, which is now a part of the collection of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen. On the painting, the artist has depicted a friend and himself against a backdrop of marching Nazis between the ruins of Rotterdam after the bombardment of 14 May 1940. The canvas represents the resistance of the intelligentsia against the occupation. This book contains essays by writer Nelleke Noordervliet and philosopher Peter Wesly. 0Exhibition: Museum de Fundatie, Zwolle/Heino, the Netherlands (9.9.2012-6.1.2013).