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Who is he waving at? Friendly, his gaze raised. Perhaps 'Flaneur' is saying hello to journalist Eduard Elias (1900-1967), the creator of his character. Elias liked to linger across the street at restaurant 'Royal', at the time 44 Lange Voorhout. Well, maybe it's no one in particular, or perhaps it's everyone, because a flâneur is in the habit of greeting many times.
On 13 June 1968, the statue 'Flaneur' by Theo van der Nahmer was unveiled, a tribute to Elias, who wrote under the pseudonym Flaneur in the newspaper 'Het Vaderland' about affairs in The Hague. In 'Het Vaderland' of 10 June 1968, Van der Nahmer says the following about the sculpture: '[...] I have linked the figure of Elias with Flaneur, as it were; this cannot be seen on the outside, but on the inside. It has become a Hagener, you can't put it in Rotterdam. At least that is what the mayor said immediately when he saw the sculpture: Yes, it is a real Hagenaar!
Who else but the Hague sculptor Van der Nahmer could have made this sculpture. He chose abstract or figurative, depending on the commission and the location. His figurative bronzes are light and airy, in the sense that the material never appears massive. This also applies to 'Flaneur'. Initially, the commission was granted to sculptor Mari Andriessen. However, Andriessen returned the commission. And then the committee knocked on Van der Nahmer's door.
Van der Nahmer had already designed the sculpture in his mind, because he knew about the commission from the newspaper. Flaneur played through his head and came to life. A figure with a bowler hat, a stick and a newspaper in the pocket of his coat, cheerfully saying goodbye. And so it came to be, with the caption: 'Flaneur - I see around ... and smile'.