Artwork Data

Title

Buste Constantijn Hyugens

Artist

Arend Odé

Year

1897

Artwork Location

Address

Scheveningseweg, hoek Ary van der Spuyweg, Den Haag

City district

Scheveningen

GPS data

52.089981753378, 4.2940810857056 View on map

Artwork Description

Text

Originally, the bust of the poet, writer, musician, collector, diplomat and statesman Constantijn Huygens (1596-1687) stood at the beginning of Scheveningseweg, near the promenade. It was placed there in 1897. In view of his political talents - Huygens was secretary to Prince Frederik Hendrik - and the fact that he lived almost all his life in The Hague, you would sooner expect to find the statue in the centre of the Dutch capital. Nevertheless, it is at its rightful place here on the Scheveningseweg. After all, Huygens was the one who designed this road between the coast and the centre. There is still a tollhouse along this straight road where fishermen from Scheveningen used to have to pay a toll for the fish they brought to The Hague.

During the Second World War, the statue was removed as a precaution. Afterwards, it was given a new location. Since 1957, the bust is located at the corner of Scheveningseweg and the new Ary van der Spuyweg. It adorns a small hill at the edge of the Scheveningse Bosjes.

Sculptor Arend Odé has turned it into a rather classical statue. In addition to Huygens' name and dates, he also added decorative motifs to the natural stone plinth, such as a French lily and a few curls. Those few curls give the statue something baroque. Moreover, because the statesman directs his gaze in the direction of the Peace Palace, the portrait acquires a certain dynamism. This too is typical of the (neo)baroque style in which the statue was made. Odé has given Huygens a portrait worthy of someone from his circle.

Close