Dutch Treat
Having just returned from a week trip to the Netherlands and Belgium, it seemed an appropriate time to look at this large-scale watercolor I found months ago at my local thrift store. The picture measures 21” by 17” and is nicely framed, though to capture a painting behind glass takes a bit of camera work so the frame is not shown. It caught my eye, likely because I’m a sucker for anything Dutch. For the ridiculously low price of $35 I couldn’t pass the piece up. I hung it on our screen porch as the colors worked beautifully, and I puzzled over the image for quite a while.
Oddly enough, I recognized the signature. Linda Kollacks had been a member of my quilt group years ago, and I admired her amazing applique work. She is also an artist of some renown in our area, and works mostly in oils. In fact, I purchased a small oil from her years ago for my daughter, as it depicts the ponies of Chincoteague, a sweet reminder of a trip daughter and I took to see the famous “swim”.
Clearly this large watercolor is depicting some Dutch scenery, but the musical instrument in the background, and the very obviously dated costumes left me a bit confused. The puzzle was solved – sort of – when a friend posted photos on her Facebook page of her recent trip to Holland, Michigan. It seems the image Linda Kollacks painted was from a Dutch village in Michigan called Nelis Dutch Village. (https://www.dutchvillage.com/) The Village is similar to Colonial Williamsburg, having interactive exhibits and events recreating the culture and heritage of the “real” Holland. The city also hosts a tulip festival each year, a celebration started in 1929. (This year’s event is May 4-12 so maybe plan for next year!) It is at this Village you can find this odd musical machine – known as “De Gouden Engel” (The Golden Angel), a Dutch Street Organ. After consulting The Oracle (ericas-heirloom-treasures/the-oracle-not-at-delphi), I learned quite a bit about these instruments, this one in particular.
The organ is from 1908, and was originally known as “De Tiet”...due to rather voluptuous female caryatids on the front which were removed at some point, well before the organ arrived in Michigan. There is quite a dissertation on the De Tiet (now De Gouden Engel) (https://Carl Frei Dutch rebuild Nellis' Dutch Village Holland MI.pdf) but it seems this particular organ has gone through a number of renovations. It is a thought to be a “genuine Carl Frei organ” built from a Gavioli machine. It was “rebuilt” by numerous organ companies, and spent many years being rented out for events in Holland and Belgium.
Still not clear what a “Dutch Street Organ” actually is, so more consulting with The Oracle. The origin was the simple music box, carried by a strap around the neck, and played by turning a crank. Eventually, these grew into larger, louder machines on wheels. Traveling showmen would rent a Street Organ for their music halls or fairs, and the machines “soon proved to have some nasty disadvantages when they were transported and played on the streets. Filled with reed pipe ranks such as vox humanas, saxophones and clarinets, they went out of tune very easily during their daily voyage over the cobbled streets of Amsterdam and other big cities. Moreover, due to the increasing traffic noise by motorcars, their sound also grew relatively too weak to be overheard properly. As a result, nearly all of these organs were rebuilt in the 1920s and 1930s to match the changing circumstances.” The Organ’s sale to Mr. Nelis in Holland, MI in the 1970s for his amusement park saved its musical details from additional ruin/repair.
The amusement park includes dancers, as depicted in Kollack’s watercolor, with the street organ playing behind them. I have not yet figured out why she painted such a large watercolor of the scene, but I did learn in my research that she and her husband spent over 20 years living in Brussels. Possibly a visit to Holland, MI spoke to her and she captured the scene in watercolor.
My recent visit to Amsterdam and Belgium did not include street organs and dancers. However, Kings Day in Amsterdam certainly created massive crowds dancing to all sorts of modern street music- live music, boom boxes, ruckus singing (and LOTS of drinking…don’t advise getting caught in that chaos!). However, the wonderful city of Bruges, filled with cobbled streets, fascinating history and an ancient clock tower certainly makes you feel you are in living history. The city was not bombed by Hitler as he was keen to get his hands on the only Michelangelo statue outside of Italy – the lovely small-scale Madonna of Bruges, displayed in the Church of Our Lady. While Hitler wrecked destruction on humanity, his avarice for precious art did allow small moments of miracles – including the saving of Bruges. I will not discuss the horrors of his behavior, but will feel thankful for the Madonna of Bruges for her sojourn to the salt mines of Austria, and her return to the beautiful city she rescued.