Artwork Data
Artwork Location
Address
Ilsyplantsoen, Den Haag
City district
Leidschenveen-Ypenburg
GPS data
52.040569975736, 4.3541200288361 View on map
Artwork Description
Text
After sixty years, the time had finally come. On 10 May 2000, Monument Ypenburg was unveiled to commemorate the victims who fell in the battle for the airfield near The Hague. The monument, designed by Stolwijk sculptor Ineke van Dijk, consists of two parts: a small sculpture recording the events of the memorable 10th of May 1940 and a large sculpture group expressing the feelings of the time.
Two bronze panels in a rudimentary human form form the small sculpture. On the left panel, under the heading 'The attack', is how fiercely the Germans fought for Ypenburg. From there, they could push on to The Hague to capture the Dutch leadership. The word 'raid' concludes this account.
On the right panel, under the heading 'The Resistance', it says that the Dutch units succeeded in recapturing the airfield from the Germans in the evening of 10 May. This enabled the Royal Family and the cabinet to escape to England in time. 95 Dutch soldiers were killed, several of the wounded died later. Not defeated' are the final words.
The inscription on the pedestal of the large sculpture group reads briefly but powerfully: 'Attacked, not beaten'. This is what Van Dijk depicts with the bronze sculpture. Despite the abstraction of the human figures, it is clear that they have put their arms across each other's shoulders in camaraderie. Together they form a front, strong and unyielding.
The power that the sculpture radiates is partly due to the robust surfaces, which give the impression of being built up with long strokes. This is because Van Dijk makes the models for her bronzes from wax. Unlike clay, with which most sculptors model, this allows them to create much more elongated, almost linear forms. This working method leads to an exceptional design, which can be called her trademark.