Dick Ket (Dirk Hendrik Ket)*
(Den Helder 1902–1940 Bennekom)
Self-Portrait, 1924, signed and dated with studio stamp Atelier Dick Ket on the bottom, oil on canvas laid on panel, 35.5 x 25.5 cm, framed
Provenance:
Collection of Libbe Ket (1873–1960), Bennekom c. 1944, (the artist's father)
Collection of Hermanus Johannes Siero (1899–1966), Arnhem
Collection of Willy Fokkinga-Siero (1934–2018), Arnhem (label on the reverse)
Simonis & Buuk Gallery, Ede (The Netherlands)
European Private Collection (acquired from the above)
Ehibited:
Arnhem, Dick Ket, 1902–1940, Gemeentemuseum, 16 December 1962 – 17 February 1963, exhib. cat. no. 1. (label on the reverse)
Laren, Dick Ket, Memorial Foundation, 23 February 1963 – 15 April 1963 (label on the reverse)
Breda, Dick Ket, de Beyerd cultureel centrum, 19 April – 26 May 1963 (label on the reverse)
Arnhem, Dick Ket, Gemeentemuseum, 1968, exhib. cat. p. 150 no. 1 with ill.
Arnhem, Dick Ket Over zijn leven, ideeen en kunst, Gemeentemuseum, 26 November – 19 March 1995, exhib. cat. p. 151, no. 8 not ill. (label on the reverse)
Literature:
J. de Gruyter, J. Mekkink, Dick Ket 1902–1940, Gemeentemuseum Arnhem, 1968, exhib. cat. p. 150 no. 1
The present work – signed "DK" and dated 1924 – belongs to the group of approximately forty self-portraits within the corpus of around 140 paintings by the Dutch painter and printmaker Dick Ket.
Executed on a small panel, the artist portrays himself in three-quarter view, concentrating almost exclusively on the physiognomy. The sharply defined shirt collar, the carefully rendered knot of the tie, and the suggestion of a lapel give the composition a formal character, indicating that the work likely predates the period of self-imposed "domestic seclusion" that defined Ket's life from 1925 onwards. It is therefore plausible to date its execution during the final phase of his studies at the Kunstoefening Academy in Arnhem (1922–1923).
Today, Ket may readily be described as an "outsider" artist: paradoxically attuned to contemporary developments while remaining deliberately detached from the world he chose to avoid. A singular voice within the artistic landscape, his œuvre – despite considerable critical recognition, particularly in the Netherlands – remains comparatively underrepresented in standard art historical narratives.
Born in Den Helder in 1902, Ket developed early symptoms of a severe degenerative heart condition. Modern medical scholarship has traced the progression of this illness through his numerous self-portraits, notably identifying the characteristic "clubbed fingers" (Hippocratic fingers).
These fragile physical and psychological circumstances profoundly shaped his brief life. Ket lived in his family home at Prins Bernhardlaan 70 in Bennekom, with his parents. He studied in Arnhem while his increasing physical debility, compounded by a persistent form of agoraphobia, led him into an isolation from which he never emerged, until his death at the age of thirty-eight.
Ket produced the greater part of his œuvre within this confined domestic setting, cut off from direct contact with both the outside world and fellow artists, and relying primarily on his parents as models for visual reference. His work was focused on self-portraiture, representations of his parents, still life paintings, and interior scenes, all these works were characterized by quiet, introspective investigation into the presence of everyday objects and intimate relationships.
From 1929 onwards, Ket appeared to have aligned himself with the current of Magischer Realismus (Magic Realism), although his familiarity with the movement was largely theoretical and mediated through reproductions. Works from the 1930s – such as the self-portrait now in the collection of the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen – demonstrate a synthesis of the compositional rigor of Renaissance portraiture with the inclusion of objects that engage the viewer in a subtle and enigmatic visual discourse.
Now regarded as cult works within the Netherlands, Ket's paintings, drawings, and prints are predominantly held in major public collections, including Museum Arnhem, the Rijksmuseum, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Museum MORE, and the Kunstmuseum Den Haag.
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(Den Helder 1902–1940 Bennekom)
Self-Portrait, 1924, signed and dated with studio stamp Atelier Dick Ket on the bottom, oil on canvas laid on panel, 35.5 x 25.5 cm, framed
Provenance:
Collection of Libbe Ket (1873–1960), Bennekom c. 1944, (the artist's father)
Collection of Hermanus Johannes Siero (1899–1966), Arnhem
Collection of Willy Fokkinga-Siero (1934–2018), Arnhem (label on the reverse)
Simonis & Buuk Gallery, Ede (The Netherlands)
European Private Collection (acquired from the above)
Ehibited:
Arnhem, Dick Ket, 1902–1940, Gemeentemuseum, 16 December 1962 – 17 February 1963, exhib. cat. no. 1. (label on the reverse)
Laren, Dick Ket, Memorial Foundation, 23 February 1963 – 15 April 1963 (label on the reverse)
Breda, Dick Ket, de Beyerd cultureel centrum, 19 April – 26 May 1963 (label on the reverse)
Arnhem, Dick Ket, Gemeentemuseum, 1968, exhib. cat. p. 150 no. 1 with ill.
Arnhem, Dick Ket Over zijn leven, ideeen en kunst, Gemeentemuseum, 26 November – 19 March 1995, exhib. cat. p. 151, no. 8 not ill. (label on the reverse)
Literature:
J. de Gruyter, J. Mekkink, Dick Ket 1902–1940, Gemeentemuseum Arnhem, 1968, exhib. cat. p. 150 no. 1
The present work – signed "DK" and dated 1924 – belongs to the group of approximately forty self-portraits within the corpus of around 140 paintings by the Dutch painter and printmaker Dick Ket.
Executed on a small panel, the artist portrays himself in three-quarter view, concentrating almost exclusively on the physiognomy. The sharply defined shirt collar, the carefully rendered knot of the tie, and the suggestion of a lapel give the composition a formal character, indicating that the work likely predates the period of self-imposed "domestic seclusion" that defined Ket's life from 1925 onwards. It is therefore plausible to date its execution during the final phase of his studies at the Kunstoefening Academy in Arnhem (1922–1923).
Today, Ket may readily be described as an "outsider" artist: paradoxically attuned to contemporary developments while remaining deliberately detached from the world he chose to avoid. A singular voice within the artistic landscape, his œuvre – despite considerable critical recognition, particularly in the Netherlands – remains comparatively underrepresented in standard art historical narratives.
Born in Den Helder in 1902, Ket developed early symptoms of a severe degenerative heart condition. Modern medical scholarship has traced the progression of this illness through his numerous self-portraits, notably identifying the characteristic "clubbed fingers" (Hippocratic fingers).
These fragile physical and psychological circumstances profoundly shaped his brief life. Ket lived in his family home at Prins Bernhardlaan 70 in Bennekom, with his parents. He studied in Arnhem while his increasing physical debility, compounded by a persistent form of agoraphobia, led him into an isolation from which he never emerged, until his death at the age of thirty-eight.
Ket produced the greater part of his œuvre within this confined domestic setting, cut off from direct contact with both the outside world and fellow artists, and relying primarily on his parents as models for visual reference. His work was focused on self-portraiture, representations of his parents, still life paintings, and interior scenes, all these works were characterized by quiet, introspective investigation into the presence of everyday objects and intimate relationships.
From 1929 onwards, Ket appeared to have aligned himself with the current of Magischer Realismus (Magic Realism), although his familiarity with the movement was largely theoretical and mediated through reproductions. Works from the 1930s – such as the self-portrait now in the collection of the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen – demonstrate a synthesis of the compositional rigor of Renaissance portraiture with the inclusion of objects that engage the viewer in a subtle and enigmatic visual discourse.
Now regarded as cult works within the Netherlands, Ket's paintings, drawings, and prints are predominantly held in major public collections, including Museum Arnhem, the Rijksmuseum, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Museum MORE, and the Kunstmuseum Den Haag.
Estimate
Time, Location
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