Artwork Data

Title

Fontein met drie dansende meisjes

Artist

Gerard van Remmen

Year

1960

Material

brons / steenachtig

Dimensions

h. 99 cm

Artwork Location

Address

Segbroeklaan, Den Haag

City district

Segbroek

GPS data

52.0801600145407, 4.26555410282559 View on map

Artwork Description

Text

A city plan is not complete without something to embellish it', said director Hillenaar when he donated this statue of Gerard van Remmen to the municipality on behalf of the construction company of the same name. The company had been responsible for building the flats in the area. The dancing girls in the fountain were the playful element that, according to Hillenaar, belonged to 'the seriousness of urban planning'.

Van Remmen was no stranger to the Hague commissioning circuit. As the son of sculptor Herman van Remmen and creator of the reliefs for the former city hall on the Burgemeester De Monchyplein, he already had a good reputation at a young age. His sculptures were sought after: figurative but stylised, or as a newspaper of the time put it: 'an expression of modern but not abstract art'.

Even before the Second World War, artists such as Picasso and Duchamp had completely overthrown the boundaries of sculpture. Forms had been broken down and the choice of material was no longer limited to bronze or stone. Even in the 1950s, such abstract work went too far for the general public. For commissions for public spaces, preference was therefore given to work in the style of artists such as Van Remmen.
Gradually, however, he too left behind his traditional training. His work became more abstract and he chose materials such as steel and concrete. Moreover, he was a committed artist who, together with architects and sociologists, investigated the possibilities of making newly built neighbourhoods more attractive. In Hillenaar, Van Remmen had found a kindred spirit.

Close