 |
|
‘'WHEN I WAS A LITTLE BOY...' LOUIS COUPERUS' EARLY CHILDHOOD IN 1860'S THE HAGUE’ 10 November 2012 – 2 June 2013
2013: LOUIS COUPERUS JUBILEE YEAR In 2013 it is 150 years ago that Louis Couperus was born, on Mauritskade in The Hague – a reason for many festivities, all over the country. This exhibition is the first of its kind. It has three points of departure:
THE HAGUE IN THE 1860'S What happened in The Hague during that period, how was the Couperus family involved, and above all: how does a writer remember his early childhood in that town? As off 1860, Willems Park and Archipelago Quarter were constructed, the area’s where Couperus lived and where many characters in his books dwelt around. In 1863, the Kingdom of The Netherlands celebrated its fiftieth anniversary. To this occasion, a monument was to be erected on Plein (Square) 1813. Louis uncle: George Louis Couperus (1819-1876) was one of the three vice-presidents in the committee that organised its inauguration, which took place on 17 November 1869. The exhibition features a maquette of the monument and prints of the event. It looked for all the world like a miniature 1911 Delhi Durbar..
BACKGROUND OF THE COUPERUS, REIJNST AND BAUD FAMILIES Louis Couperus descended from an illustrious family. On all sides he was surrounded by important civil servants in the Dutch colonial service. His maternal grandfather, Johan Cornelis Reijnst (1798-1871) had been vice Governor General of the Dutch East Indies. Who were these people, what did they look like, where did they live?.
PAPA JOHN RICUS COUPERUS At this exhibition, special attention will be paid to the life and interests of Louis’ father: John Ricus Couperus (1816-1902). In 1863, he was a retired judge in the High Court of the Dutch East Indies, and a former member of the High Military Court on Java. John Ricus was, however, basically of an artistic inclination, who taught his benjamin Latin and English in a playful manner. He wrote his memoirs for his children and he liked to compose music to certain family occasions. The Louis Couperus Museum pays attention to this artistic side of his and hopes to organize a concert of John Ricus’ compositions.
Different sponsors have been approached to finance this exhibition.  The monument at Plein 1813. Maquette, collection The Hague Historical Museum ‘FROM MORBID MIASMA'S TO DYING IN BEAUTY. IMAGES OF DEATH AND DYING WITH LOUIS COUPERUS.’ 24 November 2011 – 27 May 2012 An exhibition around Louis Couperus's views on death and dying around 1900; from naturalism to decadentism. The controversy around Couperus's cremation - which was deemed illegal - will also feature in the exhibition. Questions were asked in the House.
Death and dying There is a lot of death, murder and suicide in the works of Louis Couperus. His debut novel, Eline Vere (only recently re-translated into English and published by Pushkin Press), ends with the accidental suicide of the title heroin, and the next one: Footsteps of fate (translated into English in 1892) with a double suicide. Emperor Oscar in the 'king novel' Majesty (translated into English in 1894) is killed by an anarchist, a popular theme in the 1890's. Essence of Old People and the Things that Pass (translated into English in 1918) is the crime of passion committed by the two protagonists when they were young. The decadent Roman emperor Elegabalus in De berg van licht (The Mountain of Light, still awaiting translation) dreams of dying in beauty - an idle dream indeed...
Burial and cremation The nineteenth century saw a rising interest in the concept of cremation, especially on the grounds of health and hygiene. On the other hand cremation began to attract attention from a romantic point of view. The cremation of P.C. Shelley on the Italian beach in 1822 caused a sensation, also in Holland. Couperus was one of the first people to be cremated in The Netherlands. All these themes will visualised in the context of literature, art and culture around 1900, by means of loans from The Hague Historical Museum and The Hague Municipal Archives, Amsterdam funerary museum Tot Zover and mourning dress from the costume department of The Hague National Theatre.
The exhibition was made possible thanks to financial contributions from Oud Eik en Duinen cemetery, Monuta and Engelen & Spoor burial company.  A photo of the monument on Couperus's grave at Oud Eik en Duinen cemetery, The Hague. Photo: Mrs. Starke-Milkó
INSPIRED BY THE DUTCH EAST INDIES. LOUIS COUPERUS, ISAAC ISRAELS AND H.P. BERLAGE (1921-1923) 3 June – 6 November 2011  Sketch, by Isaac Israels, of a scene on the boat to the Dutch East Indies. Collection Haags Gemeentemuseum Off to The Indies Between 1921 and 1923 the author Louis Couperus (1863-1923), the painter Isaac Israels (1865-1934) and the architect H.P. Berlage (1856-1934) all traveled to the Dutch East Indies. Couperus wrote travel stories for Haagsche Post which were posthumously collected in the book Oostwaarts (1923; translated into English under the title Eastward, in 1924). Israels sketched and painted to his heart's content and wrote letters. Berlage drew the local architecture and kept a diary, that was published, in 1931, under the title: Mijn Indische reis. Gedachten over cultuur en kunst (My journey to the Indies. Thoughts about culture and art; it has never been translated). The exhibitions shows drawings, paintings, sketches and descriptions and compares the impressions of the three artists.
Did the three artists know one another? Isaac Israels and Louis Couperus traveled to the Indies in the same period: the autumn of 1921. They met on the boat from Java to Bali. Couperus mentions the painter in one of his articles in Haagsche Post. Israels refers to a conversation with the writer in one of his letters. Berlage and Couperus probably never really met, but back in the nineties, H.P. Berlage designed several book covers for Couperus: for his so-called 'king novels' Wereldvrede (1895) and Hooge troeven (1896), neither of which has ever been translated into English, and later, for his collected works: the so called "Werkenband" (1904). These designs clearly show the transition from decorative to abstract geometrical design Berlage is famous for. The architect started his career as an artist.
The exhibition was made possible thanks to financial contributions from the J.E. Jurriaanse Stichting and the Stichting Gifted Art.  Drawing, by H.P. Berlage, of the Borobudur. Collection Nederlands Architectuur Instituut
|
|