Armando (artist)
Encyclopedia
Herman Dirk van Dodeweerd (born September 18, 1929), known as Armando, is a Dutch
painter and writer.
, and as child moved to Amersfoort
. There he saw, during the German occupation of the Netherlands, how the Nazis set up a "transition camp" for prisoners who were to be sent to concentration camps. The suffering of the victims and the cruelty of the Nazi camp guards, so near his home, influenced him for the rest of his life. After the liberation (1945), he studied art history at the University of Amsterdam.
His first solo exhibition was at the Galerie Le Canard, Amsterdam, in 1954. At this time he also started to write poetry
. He was influenced by the CoBrA
art group, and made abstract drawings—with his left hand, in the dark. He was also influenced by Dubuffet and Jean Fautrier
, producing thickly impasto
ed paintings.
In 1957 he was one of the founder-members of the Nederlandse Informele Groep (Informelen), with the painters Kees van Bohemen, Jan Henderikse, Henk Peeters
, Jan Schoonhoven and others.
By 1959 he had joined the Situationist International (SI) and attended their Third conference, held in Munich
April 17–20, 1959. With Anton Alberts
, Constant
and Har Oudejans he wrote First proclamation of the Dutch Section of the SI. However, he was expelled from the SI in the Spring of 1960, though continuing to contribute to other Situationist publications like the Situationist Times
. He has also contributed to Podium, Gard Sivik, De Nieuwe Stijl, and Barbarber.
He lived partly in Amsterdam
, partly in Amersfoort
, and until 1989 also in Berlin
.
devoted to his work. On October 22, 2007, a large fire struck the museum and burned thirteen Armando paintings. At the time of the fire there was also an exhibition with works of painters like Ruysdael
, Dürer
, Seghers
and Kiefer
, which were all lost, with damages estimated at about three million euros (US$ 4,000,000). (Source: Dutch TV News NOS, October 24, 2007) A final balance of the damage by the fire was made on Tuesday November 20, 2007. According to a Dutch newsarticle, 63 paintings were lost, 8 were recovered. 6 of the recovered paintings are badly damaged, two are lightly damaged.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
painter and writer.
Biography
Armando was born in AmsterdamAmsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, and as child moved to Amersfoort
Amersfoort
Amersfoort is a municipality and the second largest city of the province of Utrecht in central Netherlands. The city is growing quickly but has a well-preserved and protected medieval centre. Amersfoort is one of the largest railway junctions in the country, because of its location on two of the...
. There he saw, during the German occupation of the Netherlands, how the Nazis set up a "transition camp" for prisoners who were to be sent to concentration camps. The suffering of the victims and the cruelty of the Nazi camp guards, so near his home, influenced him for the rest of his life. After the liberation (1945), he studied art history at the University of Amsterdam.
His first solo exhibition was at the Galerie Le Canard, Amsterdam, in 1954. At this time he also started to write poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
. He was influenced by the CoBrA
COBRA (avant-garde movement)
COBRA was a European avant-garde movement active from 1948 to 1951. The name was coined in 1948 by Christian Dotremont from the initials of the members' home cities: Copenhagen , Brussels , Amsterdam .-History:...
art group, and made abstract drawings—with his left hand, in the dark. He was also influenced by Dubuffet and Jean Fautrier
Jean Fautrier
Jean Fautrier was a French painter and sculptor. He was one of the most important practitioners of Tachisme.He was born in Paris. Given his unwed mother's surname, he was raised by his grandmother until her death in 1908, when he went to live with his mother in London.In 1912 he studied at the...
, producing thickly impasto
Impasto
In English, the borrowed Italian word impasto most commonly refers to a technique used in painting, where paint is laid on an area of the surface very thickly, usually thickly enough that the brush or painting-knife strokes are visible. Paint can also be mixed right on the canvas...
ed paintings.
In 1957 he was one of the founder-members of the Nederlandse Informele Groep (Informelen), with the painters Kees van Bohemen, Jan Henderikse, Henk Peeters
Henk Peeters
Henk Peeters is a Dutch artist. He was part of the ZERO movement.Peeters studied Fine Art at the Koninklijke Academie voor Beeldende Kunsten in The Hague and taught from 1957 until 1972 at the Art Academy in Arnhem, the Netherlands.Together with other Dutch artists, such as Jan Henderikse, Armando...
, Jan Schoonhoven and others.
By 1959 he had joined the Situationist International (SI) and attended their Third conference, held in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
April 17–20, 1959. With Anton Alberts
Anton Alberts
Anton Alberts was a Dutch architect best known for the ING Bank in the Bijlmer district of Amsterdam and the Gas Corporation headquarters in Groningen....
, Constant
Constant Nieuwenhuys
Constant Anton Nieuwenhuys was a Dutch painter, and one of the foremost innovators of Unitary Urbanism. In 1941, he became deeply interested in the work of Paul Cézanne, Cubism and German Expressionism....
and Har Oudejans he wrote First proclamation of the Dutch Section of the SI. However, he was expelled from the SI in the Spring of 1960, though continuing to contribute to other Situationist publications like the Situationist Times
Situationist Times
The Situationist Times ran to six issues edited and published by Jacqueline de Jong between May 1962 and December 1964 in Hengelo , Copenhagen and Paris, in editions of between 1,000-2,000....
. He has also contributed to Podium, Gard Sivik, De Nieuwe Stijl, and Barbarber.
He lived partly in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, partly in Amersfoort
Amersfoort
Amersfoort is a municipality and the second largest city of the province of Utrecht in central Netherlands. The city is growing quickly but has a well-preserved and protected medieval centre. Amersfoort is one of the largest railway junctions in the country, because of its location on two of the...
, and until 1989 also in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
Fire at the Armando museum, 2007
Amersfoort, the place of his childhood, hosts a museumMuseum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
devoted to his work. On October 22, 2007, a large fire struck the museum and burned thirteen Armando paintings. At the time of the fire there was also an exhibition with works of painters like Ruysdael
Jacob Isaakszoon van Ruysdael
Jacob Isaackszoon van Ruisdael was a Dutch landscape painter.-Life:A native of Haarlem, he appears to have studied under his father Isaak van Ruysdael, a landscape painter, though other authorities place him as the pupil of Berghem and of Allart van Everdingen...
, Dürer
Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer was a German painter, printmaker, engraver, mathematician, and theorist from Nuremberg. His prints established his reputation across Europe when he was still in his twenties, and he has been conventionally regarded as the greatest artist of the Northern Renaissance ever since...
, Seghers
Hercules Seghers
Hercules Pieterszoon Seghers or Segers was a Dutch painter and printmaker of the Dutch Golden Age. Segers is in fact the more common form in contemporary documents, and was used by the painter himself...
and Kiefer
Anselm Kiefer
Anselm Kiefer is a German painter and sculptor. He studied with Joseph Beuys and Peter Dreher during the 1970s. His works incorporate materials such as straw, ash, clay, lead, and shellac...
, which were all lost, with damages estimated at about three million euros (US$ 4,000,000). (Source: Dutch TV News NOS, October 24, 2007) A final balance of the damage by the fire was made on Tuesday November 20, 2007. According to a Dutch newsarticle, 63 paintings were lost, 8 were recovered. 6 of the recovered paintings are badly damaged, two are lightly damaged.
Honours
- 1990 - Knight of the Order of Oranje-Nassau
- 2006 - Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion
- 2009 - The Honorary medal for Arts and Science of the Order of the House of Orange
Awards
- 1977 - The Herman Gorter prize for his work Het gevecht.
- 1984 - The Ferdinand Bordewijk Prize for his essay Machthebbers, verslagen uit Berlijn en Toscane.
- 1984 - The Multatuli prize for his essay Machthebbers, verslagen uit Berlijn en Toscane.
- 1985 - The 1st Jacobus van Looy prize.
- 1987 - The Gouden GanzenveerGouden GanzenveerThe Gouden Ganzenveer is a Dutch cultural award initiated in 1955, given annually to a person or organization of great significance to the written and printed word. Recipients are selected by an academy of people from the cultural, political, scientific, and corporate world. Members meet once a...
voor his contribution to the Dutch culture and the distribution throughout Europa. - 1989 - The Multatuli prize for his essay De straat en het struikgewas.