large edition | 05
special edition | 01
small edition | 20
Jan Jacob Slauerhoff
Leeuwarden Lonkt
Leeuwarden, Voorstreek 26, in front of the parental home
Late summer 1919
Slau and Simon Vestdijk visit Leeuwarden. They knew each other laterally from the HBS and study medicine in Amsterdam, while the admiration for each other’s writing and poetry connects them.
Jan Jacob Slauerhoff together with Simon Vestdijk in front of Slauerhoff’s parental home. This street on the Voorstreek has also been completely restored to its old atmosphere; modern elements and facades have been removed and “replaced” by other existing old facades, which can of course still be found in the city. It has been looked up, photographed and edited in the present time to create this final image with the atmosphere of the early twentieth century.
Jan Jacob Slauerhoff (nickname “Jan”, for his friends “Slau”) was born as the fifth of six children in a Protestant middle class environment in Leeuwarden. He suffered from asthma attacks. To relieve this, he spent a few months every year on Vlieland with his family. Slauerhoff went to the HBS in Leeuwarden. In 1916 he moved to Amsterdam to study medicine. During his student days he met Simon Vestdijk (also from Leeuwarden). Slauerhoff participated in student life, but also remained on his own, reading, writing. Inspired by some French poets from the Romantic era (Baudelaire, Verlaine, Corbière and Rimbaud, among others), he opted for a bohemian-like, detached position.
In 1921, while he was still a student, his debut collection Archipel was published. The poetry of the then 23-year-old Slauerhoff was received with praise. Slauerhoff would remain fascinated by islands throughout his life. In his later work too, the island developed into a metaphor on which to project his desires. At a literary student club that Slauerhoff attended at the time, he met Truus de Ruyter. She would be the first in a series of women with whom he did not dare to commit. Truus wanted security, he wanted to go to the sea. When the end of his studies approached and the engagement to Truus was broken, Slauerhoff knew for sure: he would leave the homeland and go to sea.
As a ship’s doctor, Slauerhoff made long journeys by ship. The isolation on board suited him well. He retired to his cabin to work on his novels, stories and poems.
During his life van Slauerhoff published a total of 10 collections of poetry, 3 collections of short stories, 3 novels and 1 play. One year after his death, one new novel by Slauerhoff was published posthumously. He has also translated a number of prose works from Spanish, Portuguese and French. Slauerhoff’s poems, novels and stories are reprinted to this day.
The series Leeuwarden Lonkt
Maartje Roos has captured fragments from the lives of famous Leeuwarders in a contemporary manner. Recognizable locations and elements of the current city have been used to go back in time. The Stadhouderlijk Hof, for example, can be seen in its old form by using modern photo techniques and the still-present parts of buildings in the city.
In total, so far, 33 extras have posed in historical costumes. Three dogs, three horses, a cat and birds have appeared before the lens. Special ballet clothing had to be made. And it has been quite a quest to get the right ballet hall, pram, grand piano, mirror and car from that time. Even the actual household effects of Troelstra were unpacked from the Tresoar store in Winschoten for the first time after fifteen years.
Thanks to:
Stichting Nieuwe Stadweeshuis, Stichting Siebolt Foundation, Tresoar, Princessehof, Historisch Centrum Leeuwarden, Friesche Balletschool, Museum ‘t Ald Slot, Kunstkade, Stichting Oud Oranje, ‘t Andere Museum van oldtimer tot kant, Atelier Kantweelde, It Hoarnleger, Panta-Rei Antiek, De Kanselarij, Team Horsthuis, Saskia Wagenvoort visagie & grime, Stichting Oud-Oranje, Jongsma Grime en Haarwerk, Kostuumcentrale S.T.A.P., Gaele Landheer, Bonny Kalsbeek, Het Stadhouderlijk Hof, Baukje Schrijft, Boonstra Elektronika, Stichting De vier Pelikanen.
And of course the actors/models:
Jeroen Dijkstra (Simon Vestdijk) Jona de Berg (J.J. Slauerhoff), Renske Kloet (figurant), Tryntsje Kooistra (figurant), Tjipke Hendrik Kooistra (figurant), Grietje Kooistra (figurant), Jan-kees Geersing (figurant), Elise Marije Naomi Jepma (Anna van Nassau), Sijbren Reitsma (schildknaap), Sijbren Reitsma en Auke Eelkema (Willem Lodewijk van Nassau), Bommel (Kooikerhondje), Rinke Schroor (pianist), Machteld Marra (Greetje Zelle), Bente Bruning (ballet), Mireille Knopp (ballet), Marleen Boomsma (ballet), Michelle Post (ballet), Teddie Woudstra (ballet), Evelyn Bosma (ballet), Marije Hoekstra (Saskia van Uylenburgh), Ruben van Vliet (Rembrandt), Gaele Landheer (figurant paard en wagen), Linus Harms, (figurant), Nelleke Roos (figurant), Maartje Roos (figurant), Boris (Vizsla draadhaar), Sigrid Runia (Mariijke Meu), Femke Joustra (dienstmeid), Rudie Hiemstra (J.H. Knoop), Christopher Morgan (Willem IV), Lalique White (Koningspoedel), Tessa vd Ende (Nienke van Hichtum), Pascal Henry William Huiting en Lutzen (P.J. Troelstra), Saskia Wagenvoort (figurant), Miriam Letsch (Titia), Marthijs Veldthuis (Jan Cock Blomhoff).
