DOI Heft:
No. 160 (July, 1906)
DOI Artikel:Quigley, Jane: Volendam as a sketching ground for painters
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.20715#0140
Volendam as a Sketching Ground
loud Dutch voices. Owing
to their calm, pleasant tem-
perament the Dutch make
excellent models, particu-
larly the fishermen, whose
favourite attitude is that of
squatting on their heels,
smoking or chewing to-
bacco, hands plunged deep
into their baggy trouser
pockets, and eyes fixed on
space with the abstracted
gaze of an opium eater.
Serious painters work
without interruption at
Volendam, where there
are no other interests to
come between them and
the practice of their craft.
“a volendam fisherman”
that comes weekly from Amsterdam. The little
town is protected from the sea by an outer dyke,
and an inner dyke forms the main street, on either
side of which stand toy-like houses, gaily painted
■ within and without. So small are the houses, and
closely huddled together, that Volendamers spend
most of their time in the narrow streets, which
are often crowded and full of movement.
Between the two dykes lies the miniature harbour,
where quite an important
fleet of fishing boats finds
shelter, and as most of the
men and boys sleep on
board, these floating habi-
tations in the harbour are
often as densely populated
as the town itself. Quite
unique, on Saturday and
Sunday especially, is the
effect of the crowded little
harbour, and the throng of
men, women and children
in curious costumes con-
stantly moving to and fro
on the narrow dyke.
Quite a thriving trade is
done by the fisher-folk who
pose as models for the
artists, especially by the
children, who ask but small
payment, and are always
lying in wait for new-comers,
offering their services in “apple gathering” by m- a- eastlake
IX9
by j. r. greig They work in their studios,
in the cottages, or the
open streets, stimulated perhaps by the extraordin-
ary art history of Holland, and the zeal with which
the modern Dutch school holds its own against the
world. Weather seems to interfere less with work
at Volendam than elsewhere, for models are always
plentiful, and marine studies may be made from
the windows of any houses looking on to the har-
bour, or from the lower windows of the little hotel,
one side of whichfaces the Zuyder Zee. Landscape
loud Dutch voices. Owing
to their calm, pleasant tem-
perament the Dutch make
excellent models, particu-
larly the fishermen, whose
favourite attitude is that of
squatting on their heels,
smoking or chewing to-
bacco, hands plunged deep
into their baggy trouser
pockets, and eyes fixed on
space with the abstracted
gaze of an opium eater.
Serious painters work
without interruption at
Volendam, where there
are no other interests to
come between them and
the practice of their craft.
“a volendam fisherman”
that comes weekly from Amsterdam. The little
town is protected from the sea by an outer dyke,
and an inner dyke forms the main street, on either
side of which stand toy-like houses, gaily painted
■ within and without. So small are the houses, and
closely huddled together, that Volendamers spend
most of their time in the narrow streets, which
are often crowded and full of movement.
Between the two dykes lies the miniature harbour,
where quite an important
fleet of fishing boats finds
shelter, and as most of the
men and boys sleep on
board, these floating habi-
tations in the harbour are
often as densely populated
as the town itself. Quite
unique, on Saturday and
Sunday especially, is the
effect of the crowded little
harbour, and the throng of
men, women and children
in curious costumes con-
stantly moving to and fro
on the narrow dyke.
Quite a thriving trade is
done by the fisher-folk who
pose as models for the
artists, especially by the
children, who ask but small
payment, and are always
lying in wait for new-comers,
offering their services in “apple gathering” by m- a- eastlake
IX9
by j. r. greig They work in their studios,
in the cottages, or the
open streets, stimulated perhaps by the extraordin-
ary art history of Holland, and the zeal with which
the modern Dutch school holds its own against the
world. Weather seems to interfere less with work
at Volendam than elsewhere, for models are always
plentiful, and marine studies may be made from
the windows of any houses looking on to the har-
bour, or from the lower windows of the little hotel,
one side of whichfaces the Zuyder Zee. Landscape