The alcoholic and non-alcoholic bubbles were ready in the Teylers Museum on Monday. It was a festive day for the museum as well as for artist Marinus Fuit. The 88-year-old Haarlemmer signed for the transfer of two of his works of art. The museum thus owns two works by the oldest still active artist from Haarlem.
Fruit in Teylers – NH News
After signing the signature, chief curator of the art collection Terry van Druten handed out the glasses. “I am pleased that we have been approached by the Marinus Fuit Foundation and that we now own two of his works.”
The donated works will be placed in the museum’s depot for the time being. “That’s where they last the longest, drawings are very vulnerable,” says Van Druten. She explains that the museum has been collecting drawings by living artists since the start of the Teylers in 1784. “They called it living art then.”
Normal objects
“Well, since I’m still alive, I feel very much at home there,” laughs Fuit. In his studio he explains that his artworks are inspired by normal objects. “Sometimes I’ve seen them several times, but suddenly a realization comes. That happens to you, it’s almost a physical experience,” he explains.
His breakthrough came in 1964. “I was on the train and drove past Heemstede where a few people were playing basketball. It was a strange image: lively athletes in front of a static giant of stone”, Fuit remembers. The image of the flat with athletes in front eventually became his first major work.
Now, 59 years later, the artist is still active. “Although I am now at a point in my career where I am collecting an archive.” His studio is therefore full of old photos and newspaper clippings. “These all have to go to the government, which has an archive for visual art.” In that archive there is a section about Fuit that he supplements once every fifteen years.
The artist’s studio in the Rozenprieel district of Haarlem is full of his works of art. “I’ve been working here since the 1970s: Next to the work desk, the sketch attributes are neatly collected with a tray full of old, used up pencils in between. “I experienced the war as a child, I never throw anything away,” says Fuik.
During the war Fuit’s age can still be counted on two hands. A period that made a great impression on him. :The bombers flying overhead on a summer day were interspersed with the ice cream man trying to sell his ice cream in village life. It was an absurd reality.:
Many people qualify Fuit’s work as an absurd reality. The artist does not know whether this is due to the war period. :That time will certainly have had an influence, but I don’t think it was decisive for my later style.:
The foundation that has taken care of the artist’s work is pleased that the Teylers Museum has added the works of art to its collection. “It also appears 22 times in the collection of the Frans Hals Museum, so it is now well represented in Haarlem,” says Pieter Heiliegers of the foundation.
The collection will be shown occasionally. :You can clearly see the different art zeitgeists:, says Van Druten. He reports that the museum does this to stimulate contemporary art. “When an artist sells something, he has money and can continue producing. In addition, the museum is building up a beautiful collection that can serve as an example for other artists, for example.”