J.C.J. van der Heyden (born 1928)

Acquired directly from the artist

the verso has been painted with red lead therefore four spots of oil are visible on the recto, otherwise in good condition
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"Het autonome beeld moet wetten en normen uit zichzelf hebben, het kan niet van buitenaf worden bepaald. Het bezit eigen objectieve waarde, waardoor het zich niet direct op een maker beroept en is als zodanig anoniem, in wezen collectief en synchroon naar tijd en plaats."

(J. van der Heyden, , Autonome Beeldende  Kunst, Delftse School no. 12, 1965)

The Dutch artist J.C.J. van der Heyden, who was born in Den Bosch, is recognized as a key figure in Post-War art and a pioneer of Conceptual Art. Frequently exhibited in Europe since the mid-1950s, Van der Heyden has produced a diverse oeuvre in a variety of mediums including film and video. While the work differs in material, his themes and approach to art-making have remained remarkably consistent over the years.

Van der Heydens goal in art was to concentrate on modern art being art. The main difference with, for example, classic art is that classic art allows itself many more variations than being just art; it can also be illustration and decoration. The craft is a tool to be employed for various ends. Van der Heyden avoided being personal in painting. In each work he searched for an autonomous image; collective in presence as well as independent.

In order to make an autonomous work of art the maker has to abstain from any individual aspects. The fact that Van der Heyden replaced his first name 'Jacques' through his initials 'J.C.J.' is related to this. The change emphasizes a more impersonalize aspect to the work. However a work would be an ultimate non-individual painting when it remains without any signature. Van der Heyden therefore did not sign his works for a gallery exhibition in 1965 but deliberately began to sign his works after art critics claimed his anonymous works were painted by some kind of higher force. Therefore by signing them the paintings remained less personal than when it was painted by the famous "Anonymous J.C.J. van der Heyden".

To rule out subjectivity of the individual, Van der Heyden painted only in black and white during his early period. Any use of colour would reflect the personal choice of the painter, whereas black and white only record the boundaries. To achieve this Van der Heyden paints black on white and vice versa. The square, rectangle, horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines are general forms, any other line or form has its individual deviation. Van der Heyden moves away from all related aspects of any personal style in order to give the laws of physics the opportunity to evolve.

The denial of any individuality is in all its aspects of form, structure and colour present in the "Jacobsladder" by J.C.J. van der Heyden. Even in his brushstrokes any personal touch has been denied as the forms are so indistinct, they could have been painted by anyone. For example a horizontal line can not be improved upon by repeated drawing; the line is simply horizontal or it is not.

Characteristic of Van der Heyden is working with small sized canvases or the amalgamation of the smaller forms into one large work, as in the present work "Jacobsladder". The small forms in comparison with the whole illustrates local versus universal; there are exponents of his interest in the fragment, in the totality and in the interaction between them. In his art-making, Van der Heyden remains objective to the image and after sorting the elements into an orderly fashion he only reviews the new situation. The work by J.C.J. van der Heyden is original through his ultimate surrender of non-individuality, by capturing the anonymity of every image in its form.

The work Jacobsladder is an excellent example of Van der Heyden's early period and general view on art.