Pieter van der Hem (1885-1961) - De Lorelei - NO RESERVE

Pieter van der Hem (1885–1961)
De Lorelei
Oil painting on canvas, 35.5 x 41 cm – with frame 46 x 51 cm
Hand-signed (right middle)
Condition: Craquelé, recently cleaned and coated with a protective final layer.

Introduction

The painting The Lorelei by Pieter van der Hem belongs to the most refined and symbolically charged works within his oeuvre. Although Van der Hem was primarily known as a portraitist of the elite and as an illustrator of modern city life, this canvas reveals a very different, more introspective side of the artist. Here, it is not the bustle of the cabaret or the urban commotion that is depicted, but the stillness of the mythical figure of the Lorelei — the enchanting water nymph from the Rhine legend who, with her beauty and song, lured sailors to their doom.

With this work, Van der Hem joins the tradition of artists who saw the Lorelei not only as a symbol of seduction but also as a metaphor for melancholy, loneliness, and the elusive power of the female mystery.

Description of the work

On the canvas, a female nude is depicted, kneeling and slightly leaning forward at the water's edge. Her body, partly bathed in light and partly shrouded in shadow, seems to merge with the surrounding current. The model is portrayed with remarkable refinement in anatomy and tone, with Van der Hem employing a fine, vibrating brushstroke that makes the skin glow from within. The woman's posture is modest — here, the Lorelei is not presented as a triumphant seductress, but as a being who appears to hide from her own myth.

The background, composed of deep blues, turquoise, and purple-green tones, suggests the shimmer of water and light, into which the figure dissolves naturally. The undulating lines of the water enhance the rhythm of the composition, while the reflections of gold and ochre add accents of light that make the surface sparkle.

Technique and color palette

The work is painted in oil on canvas with a powerful, impasto touch that reveals the influence of Post-Impressionism and Luminism. Van der Hem uses short, rhythmic brushstrokes that bring the surface to life and refract light into a rich palette of hues. The model's skin is composed of a subtle blend of blue, pink, lilac, and green, creating the impression of a body literally shaped by the surrounding water and light.

The color scheme is harmonious and musically constructed—cool and ethereal in the shadows, warm and vibrant in the highlights. The interplay between body and water becomes almost abstract in nature: Van der Hem uses color and brushwork as a means to depict emotion and atmosphere.

The application of transparent layers and the palpable vibration of the paint point to the influence of artists like Jan Sluijters and Leo Gestel, who experimented with the visual power of color contrasts around 1910. At the same time, the luminist use of color echoes a kinship with international masters like Henri Martin and Pierre Bonnard, whose work also explored the boundary between figuration and light abstraction.

Style and art historical context

Pieter van der Hem, born in Leeuwarden, was trained at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam, where he studied with August Allebé, among others. He developed into a versatile artist: painter, draftsman, graphic artist, and designer. His oeuvre includes portraits, landscapes, posters, book illustrations, and scenes from modern life. Yet, it is precisely in works like "De Lorelei" that his poetic and symbolic imagination is most evident.

The painting reflects the artistic quest of the early twentieth century, when artists distanced themselves from academic realism and emphasized color, light, and emotion. Within the Dutch context, De Lorelei aligns with Post-Impressionism and the Hague School in its later, luminist phase. Van der Hem's emotive approach bears similarities to the intimate psychological depth of contemporaries like Jan Toorop and Richard Roland Holst.

Internationally, the work fits within the atmosphere of Symbolism around 1900, in which female figures were often depicted as embodiments of nature, desire and fate — an artistic line that runs from Fernand Khnopff to Gustav Klimt.

The myth of Lorelei

The legend of the Lorelei originates in German Romanticism, specifically in Heinrich Heine's poem (1824), in which the nymph combs her hair on a rock by the Rhine and, with her song, brings the sailors to ruin. In the visual arts and literature of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, this motif was repeatedly used as a symbol for the lure of the unknown and humanity's vulnerability to nature.

Van der Hem gives this a modern, introspective twist. His Lorelei is not the siren of doom, but a being who seems to sink into contemplation. The sensuality of the image is undeniable, but never vulgar—it is embedded in an atmosphere of poetry and silence.

Condition

The painting is in stable and well-maintained condition with an even crackle pattern consistent with its age. The canvas has recently been professionally cleaned and given a new protective seal, restoring the color palette to its full depth and clarity. The solid wood frame emphasizes the work's warm tonality without being overpowering.

Conclusion

The Lorelei is an exceptional and rare work by Pieter van der Hem, a fusion of technical virtuosity and symbolic sensitivity. The canvas embodies the transition in Dutch painting between fin-de-siècle Romanticism and modernist expression. Light and emotion vibrate in the paint, and the figure, caught between water and air, embodies the eternal tension between seduction and introspection.

It is a painting that has high collector's value both in terms of art history and aesthetics: a poetic and inspired work by an artist who managed to unite the modern sensibility with classical beauty.

The work "The Lorelei" is in a classic wooden frame

Total dimensions: 46x51cm
Canvas dimensions: 35.5x41cm

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