Text

Not born, but raised in The Hague. Theo van der Nahmer came to the residence after studying at the arts and crafts school in Den Bosch to finish his sculpture studies. Formed artistically in The Hague, he had a keen sense of how to depict typical Hague subjects. For example, 'Eline Vere' and 'Flaneur'. He made these and many other sculptures for the court.

Van der Nahmer worked mostly in bronze, sometimes in stone. His stone sculptures date mainly from the 1950s and 1960s, such as his 1954 Relief of People, Plants and Birds. This relief originally stood near the police station on Loevesteinlaan. It has since been moved to the Zuiderpark, where it serves as the backrest of a bench.

In contrast to Van der Nahmer's bronzes, which look airy, light and sometimes even fragile, the relief is rather massive and static. But when we look at the carved relief itself, a certain lightness in the composition becomes visible. The large block of natural stone has - as if it were a painting - a frame, within which the representation takes place. This frame makes the whole somewhat severe. But at the bottom, leaf motives break through the frame, which gives a playful effect. Behind plants and birds, two figures stand on either side of a tree trunk, their arms and legs spread out. The shapes are highly stylised and superimposed. It is the latter, in particular, that gives the relief a stratification, which breaks open its closed character.