1882-11 · The Hague · Knot of Motif

The Print Collection in The Hague

He pinned English prints to the wall, like fitting someone else's eyes into his own room.

No painting at this knot — only a letter.

Letter

November 1882, The Hague. He wrote: "I now have a large collection of English prints — Herkomer, Fildes, Holl." Another letter: "These prints are for me like a gospel." He used the word "gospel" for English wood engravings — a religious-grade respect. The keyword "print" appears in 9 letters — he was constantly exchanging, discussing, and mailing prints with Van Rappard.

The Translator

The keyword "print" appears in 9 letters. He was not collecting for pleasure — he was doing the translator's homework. Herkomer painted English miners; he translated that compositional approach onto Dutch weavers. Fildes painted London's poor; he translated that light onto the old people of The Hague. This is the earliest working scene of the translator talent: moving a country's visual language into another country's reality.

The Ferocious Reader

He did not just look at prints; he read them. For each one he checked the author, the publication date, the literary background. The reason Luke Fildes's The Empty Chair after Dickens's death struck him was that he had read Dickens — the prints were never isolated images for him; they were part of a cultural conversation he was reading.

Events

1882-11 The Translator · Letter 280
Wrote: 'I now have a large collection of English prints — Herkomer, Fildes, Holl.'
1882-11 The Translator · Letter 279
Frequently exchanged prints with Van Rappard. The keyword 'print' appears in 9 letters — prints became his first language of exchange with peers
1882-11 The Ferocious Reader · Letter 282
'These prints are for me like a gospel.' Using religious language for English wood engravings
1882-11 The Translator · Letter 284
Directly translated the worker compositions of English prints into his own drawings — the postures of Dutch weavers came from Herkomer's English miners