Derkinderen, Antoon J. (1859-1925) Letter to Jan van Wijk (1890-1923)

Four-page letter by A. J. Derkinderen, painter and principal of the Rijks-Academie van Beeldende Kunsten, to the painter and former pupil Jan van Wijk, Davos, 1922. In the letter der Kinderen thanks van Wijk for his hospitality in Davos and recounts a.o. on the Prix de Rome, its contenders and its aftermath.

*An interesting letter in which Derkinderen thanks his former pupil Jan van Wijk for receiving him in Davos. Van Wijk moved there due to an illness—presumably tuberculosis—from which he would die within a year. Derkinderen recounts, among other things, the Prix de Rome. He was a jury member and saw their mutual friend and his pupil Paul Determeyer lose once again. The latter, however, took it sportingly, he writes. Derkinderen praises the painting of Determeyer, although he is aware that, as a jury member, he is not allowed to comment on the candidates' work. Charles Eyck was the winner that year and therefore left for Rome: ''Een heel ding! Want je weet dat hij Kanon doof is! (...) maar aan zijn opgewektheid schaadt het niet. Gelukkig vindt hij in Rome eenige Antwerpsche vrienden die daar studeeren en die hem wel een beetje helpen zullen'. Derkinderen goes on to discuss the newly founded Rembrandt association, founded by a.o. Nauta and Boding: 'Ze hebben bijzondere verlatingsplannen en hopen in staat te zijn in dezen moeilijken tijd elkaar te steunen'.