Artwork Data
Title
Jan Ligthart-monument ‘Ot en Sien’
Artist
Year
1930
Material
natuursteen / hout
Dimensions
h. 125 cm
Partial collection
Artwork Location
Address
Marie Jungiusweg, Den Haag
City district
Escamp
GPS data
52.0606878069144, 4.28416734762027 View on map
To be found on route
Artwork Description
Text
Whole generations have grown up with them: Ot and Sien. The adventures of these enterprising children are probably even better known than their creator: Jan Ligthart (1859-1916). Together with fellow teacher and educationalist Hendricus Scheepstra (1859-1913), he wrote the stories of Ot and Sien. The accompanying illustrations are by Cornelis Jetses. The well-known reading board with 'Aap - Noot - Mies' is also by them.
Ligthart was headmaster of a primary school in the Tullinghstraat in the Schilderswijk for over thirty years. He was a proponent of what he called 'business education', which he also developed with Scheepstra. The basic principle was that a child first had to become acquainted with an object before it could appropriate information about it. In other words, practical education.
Given the great importance of Jan Ligthart for education, the Ligthart Committee took the initiative for a monument in 1925. The committee's greatest wish was that the memorial would be erected in a neighbourhood with lots of children. Ultimately it found a place in the Zuiderpark. Architect A.H.C. Briët signed for the design. For the sculpture, the committee had commissioned Frits van Hall. It is thanks to Ligthart's widow that Scheepstra's name was eventually included in the monument. After all, he was responsible for the definitive text of the books about Ot and Sien. Princess Juliana unveiled the monument in September 1930.
Ot and Sien naturally figure as the main characters. Van Hall placed them on either side of a semicircular bench. Although Van Hall usually made fairly academic and true-to-life sculptures, such as the statue of Ulricus Huber by the Supreme Court, he sculpted this Ot and Sien in a more naive style. In so doing, he seems not only to have emphasised the innocence of these two little people, but also to have confirmed their role as model children.