Book review
Petrus van der Velden by T .L. Rodney Wilson
Published by A.H. & A.W. Reed, Wellington 1977 (Number 1 in the New Zealand Art Series, 184 pages, $14.50)
Reviewed by BRIAN MUIR
The latest addition to a growing body of books about art and artists in New Zealand, and the first volume in a new series (edited by Hamish Keith), is T.L. Rodney Wilson's book on Van der Velden.
Petrus van der Velden (1837-1913) is a particularly appropriate painter with whom to launch this series, which sets out to analyse painting and individual artists in depth, and in terms of style and merit rather than any sentimental or nationalistic preconceptions.
Van der Velden was a romantic painter whose life was as romantic as his art. Rodney Wilson has gone to great lengths to reconstruct this life, and to assemble the considerable body of his work into as accurate and meaningful an order as is possible.
This is not one of those vast unwieldy tomes filled with glossy plates that have so often filled the shelves of art reference material: its format is compact and comfortable to handle. The contents are divided into several clearly-defined sections, covering a general introduction by Hamish Keith, the author's brief preface - an introduction which places the artist in his historical setting both in terms of Europe and New Zealand - and a biography that is both readable and scholarly. Full of atmosphere and colour, this biography is no mere progression of verifiable fact. Sources of information are, however, scrupulously documented.
A separate section deals with Van der Velden's stylistic origins, relating his development to the Dutch tradition of landscape and genre and the activity of the Hague School. Van der Velden remained an exponent of this school of expression in spite of his dislocation from Europe.
The economical text of this book is interspersed with excellent illustrations in black and white and colour, repoducing key drawings and paintings as well as a fascinating selection of photographs of the artist, his family, his studio in Christchurch, and the work of other artists with whom he may be compared.
Later sections deal with Van der Velden's oeuvre, a synoptic chronology of the artist's life, a selective bibliography, and a catalogue of selected works - so far as is possible in chronological sequence. Every work is illustrated in black and white, accompanied by details of size, medium, signature notes and dates, as well as provenance.
Originally published in Art New Zealand 4 February/March 1977