It’s unbelievable! Well, I certainly think it’s unbelievable, dear rond1900.nl readers 2.0. After last year’s sensational exhibition of Carel de Nerée’s drawings and paintings at the Dordrechts Museum, you might expect them to pop up everywhere in the Kunst und Kitsch world. But truth is that his work is and remains incredibly rare. Therefore, the insights raised by the great Dick Veeze and (less great) myself in the De Nerée book regarding the scope of his oeuvre remain valid. Ideally, this book will be available in English one day. During the final phase of our research and writing, one or two small drawings came to light (more on that later). However, works such as the Idealised Portrait (aka Golden Woman) are impossible to find nowadays. This makes it all the more special that it is now available. Hopefully, Dick’s wish will be fulfilled and it will end up in a public collection.
The material collected by Dick that I used for my book was also incredible, supplemented by my own modest findings in the form of works of art and documentation. As you are aware, much of the original material came from the family archive. That archive is very extensive, and we researched as much of it as possible. It’s impossible to know and find everything. This can be frustrating, but it also means that you can still discover things! Shortly before the book went to press, my friend Eline de Nerée (great-granddaughter of Constance and Carel is her great-great-uncle) found a wonderful photo of Carel de Nerée. It was taken in late 1906 in the Swiss town of Adelboden (see p. 211). We do not know what he was doing there or who he was with. The fact that he was there with someone is evident from these two wonderful photos that Eline just sent me on this dreary February day. According to an annotation, they were also taken in Adelboden in 1906.
The first photo, taken en face, is the most authentic, unposed image of the great artist that I know of. Or did he take it himself? The averted gaze makes it look almost like a selfie. However, given the photographic techniques available at the time, this seems unlikely. In the other photo, he is sitting at a desk with a light behind him. Drawing? Perhaps he is working on The Golden Woman, which can be dated to 1904–06. Unfortunately, we cannot see the table. No photograph of De Nerée drawing or painting has yet come to light, but who knows! I believe these two photographs provide a fascinating insight into the final years of De Nerée’s life. He died young (in 1909) and these last years especially are shrouded in mystery. Thank you very much, Eline!