You had to wait quite some time for this chapter. As you will understand after reading it, I needed to do some research before.
Chapter 33 The Night Watch and the Potato eaters.
Next morning, Martin woke up at his usual time. Louisa was still in a deep sleep and even James Henry was still quiet.
Martin lay on his back, staring at the ceiling. He mused about what the first day of their holidays would bring. It was the first time ever, that he hadn't fully planned his journey from the first day to the last. Of course they had foreseen some of the longer stays, like this hotel and a he had booked a cottage in the North of Groningen, but there were still days where they would just see where they'd stay at the end of the day. In the past he had travelled, mostly alone and in rare occasions with Chris Parsons. Of course those journeys had mostly been related to conventions or studies. And if they weren't, he always made a study of the places where he'd go to. Like the bicycle tour through the Netherlands. He had thoroughly prepared that tour too, carefully calculating the best directions, avoiding to have the always present wind against you all the time. At the time he had made reservations for all hotels and B&B's he'd stay in during his visit. Both Dr. Johnson and Louisa had advised against that. Dr. Johnson had given him more or less the same advise Bert always gave him: go with the flow.
'It will do you and Louisa much good to be a little less "in control", Martin', were his words. 'Try to relax a bit and enjoy your weeks off. Get to know each other better and bond with your son'.
A warm hand suddenly caressed his chest.
'Penny for your thoughts', Louisa whispered in his ears.
'Hmm, good morning Louisa', Martin whispered back, kissing the top of her head.
'I was thinking about our holidays… I know I sounds strange, but.. I miss the seagulls and the salty fresh air of Portwenn…'
'You're not homesick, are you? You don't want to go home?'
'No… I just want to go somewhere calm, near the sea. There are beautiful coastal villages not far away from here, we could go there today…?.'
Oh no Martin Ellingham, I don't want to leave this city before having visited the Rijks Museum and the Van Gogh museaum! We have planned to go there today, remember?'
'Shhush, I know, I know, but we could go there afterwards and even make a small tour around Noord Holland, see th fishermen's towns Monikendam and Enkhuizen end end up somewhere in Wijk aan zee, or Bergen aan zee?', Martin suggested. He wondered if this was what "normal people" would discuss during their holidays.
'That sounds satisfactory to me Martin. Anyway it's best to visit the museums right after they open. We wouldn't want to miss the Night Watch, because there are too many people standing in front of it. I think we just wish to see the main paintings this time. We will surely come back to the Netherlands when James is old enough to understand some of it, won't we?'
'Yes', was Martin's simple reply.
As it was still before seven o'clock, they snuggled closely for another half hour or so and both smiled when they heard their son waking up and starting his morning vocal exercise. It amused them both to hear him repeat the sounds he already knew: 'mum, mum, dada, wen'. Then they were surprised to hear some new sounds as well: 'd'ink, cookie, no!, yesss, out'
Martin got out of bed and picked James up from his cot. With a clear 'Good morning James' and touching his son's forehead, he handed his son over to his mother and went to take a shower.
Martin started to pack their things while Louisa took her turn in the shower. When she came out of the bathroom, Martin had packed both his on suits and James' stuff and the dirty laundry had been collected in a plastic bag.
'I see why your clothes are neatly arranged in a closet, Martin', Louisa said with a deep sigh. 'It will take me a lot more time to fill my suitcase, I guess!'.
'Allow me, Martin in no time, he also had gathered together Louisa's thinhs. Her suitcase wasn't even full yet.
'How did you do that?', Louisa asked. 'when I packed in Portwenn, I could hardly close it and now, I can even add the souvenirs I bought!'.
Martin shrugged, but remained silent, because he didn't want to spoil her good mood.
'Let's have breakfast and settle the bill', he said instead.
They went downstairs and Martin headed to the reception. 'Go ahead and give James his breakfast', he suggested, 'I'll join you later'.
At the reception, he was welcomed by the hotel manager himself.
'Good morning Dr. Ellingham, what can I do for you?', he said.
'Firstly, I want you to book a B&B or another holiday location in Bergen or Wijk aan zee, from tonight on, for three nights. Which means of course that I want to check out and settle my bill. We will leave the car and our luggage in the hotel until noon approximately, so if you want, you can charge another day for the garage', Martin declared.
'Ok for the booking of the accommodation in one of the coastal towns, Dr. Ellingham, but as far as the bill is concerned… there is no bill to settle.. it's all paid by the convention organizer'.
'Nonsense, I told them to put the amount on a dedicated account and I announced them to pay my own bill'.
'Sir, you don't understand, they did AND they settled your bill. You have no idea what you've done for them. It saved their reputation. You are aware of the fact that image risk is the highest risk ever for a company like their's?', the hotel manager explained.
'Well OK then, thank them on my behalf.. But I insist to give a tip for the room service and the maids that cleaned the room after this mess with the paint and everything! Make sure they get it personally!', Martin said.
'Consider that done, Dr. Ellingham. It was a pleasure to have you and your beautiful wife as guests. If you wish to come back, just give me a call', the hotel manager replied, handing his card to Martin.
Martin entered the breakfast room. Seeing his frown, Louisa asked,
'What's wrong, Martin?'
'Nothing. The hotel manager told me that our bill was paid by the organisation that hosted the convention, but I told them to put the money on a dedicated account instead. He said that they did that too. I can't believe it.'
'Well, I am sure you can check the account from here, can't you? Better do it now, just to assure yourself..'
Martin took his smartphone from his pocket and typed the web-address of his bank. He entered his code and password and scrolled through the transactions.
'They have…', he told her, 'they have paid a considerable amount of money on the account.. Better check with Martinus if he also received a compensation', he added.
'Isn't it too early to call him, Martin? It isn't even eight o'clock!', Louisa asked.
'Not for Miartinus and Lisa, I guess. I bet their son is still up at six in the morning. He is a few months younger than James'.
Only after having the confirmation of Martinus that he also received enough money to compensate for the damages of clothes and for the convention, Martin was able to take his breakfast. After a few days, the waiter knew exactly what to serve to this quiet guest: a boiled egg with some soldiers and a cup of strong espresso would do.
'Martinus repeated his invitation, Louisa. I told him that we would be at Wourkum the last four ays of our stay in the Netherlands. If that's OK with you?'
'That's fine, Maetin. Now, let's finish ppacking and go ahead to the Rijks museaum.
Only a few minutes after the opening hour, they arrived at the entrance of the Rijks Museaum.
'I suggest to go straight to the Night Watch, Martin. Then there won't be many tourist yet'.
'That's fine , Martin said. They followed the directions on the little map they had received at the entrance.
'The advantage is that no one knows where to find it yet. The museum just opened a few days ago after ten years of restauration work. We were very lucky to get tickets for this week!'
Martin smiled inwardly. That's the advantage of having a good network, he thought. It had been with the help of Lisa that they had obtained these tickets.
'Tell me about this painting', he inspired Louisa to give some explanations when they stood in front of the huge painting. He knew that she had studied he background of the most famous painting Rembrandt van Rhijn ever made.
'The painting is renowned for three characteristics: its colossal size of 11.91 ft by 14.34 ft, the effective use of light and shadow, and the perception of motion in what would have traditionally been a static military portrait.
The painting was completed in 1642, at the peak of the Dutch Golden Age. It depicts the eponymous company moving out, led by Captain Frans Banning Cocq, who commissioned it. He is the one dressed in black, with a red sash and his lieutenant, Willem van Ruytenburch, the one dressed in yellow, with a white sash.
With effective use of sunlight and shade, Rembrandt leads the eye to the three most important characters among the crowd, the two gentlemen in the centre, from whom the painting gets its original title and the small girl in the centre left background. Behind them, the company's colours are carried by the ensign, Jan Visscher Cornelissen.
Rembrandt has displayed the traditional emblem of the harquebusiers in the painting in a natural way: the girl in yellow dress in the background is carrying the main symbols. She is a kind-of mascot herself: the claws of a dead chicken on her belt represent the "clauweniers", the harquebusiers. The pistol behind the chicken stands for 'clover' and she is holding the militia's goblet. The man in front of her is wearing a helmet with an oak leaf, a traditional motif of the harquebusiers. The dead chicken is also meant to represent a defeated adversary. The colour yellow is often associated with victory.
Another interpretation proposes that Rembrandt designed this painting with several layers of meaning, as was common among the most talented artists. Thus, the Night Watch is symmetrically divided, firstly to illustrate the union between the Dutch Protestants and the Dutch Catholics, and secondly to evoke the war effort against the Spaniards. For instance, accordingly to Rembrandt's multi-layered design, the taller Captain (in black) symbolizes the Dutch Protestant leadership, loyally supported by the Dutch Catholics (represented by the shorter Lieutenant, in yellow). Moreover, all characters of this painting were conceived to present double readings..'
'Wow, Louisa, you did a good job!', Martin complimented his lovely wife. James, perched on Martin's left arm, pointed at the painting and said 'woof'.
'Yes, James, that's a dog, a scruffy, filthy one and probably full of lice and germs', his father confirmed.
Louisa smiled at James. 'good boy, that's a doggy indeed!'.
They made a tour around the most important rooms of the museum and then decided to go to the Van Gogh museum on the other side of the "Museumplein". Louisa wished to give her husband some information on this famous painter.
'The most famous painting is maybe the "Aardappeleters, the potato eaters. Any child older than nine or ten can without any doubt name this famous painting', she said.
Van Gogh considered the Potato Eaters as a kind of showpiece, for which he deliberately chose a difficult composition to prove he was on his way to becoming painter good at painting figures, people.. He wanted the painting to express the idea that these people 'have tilled the earth themselves with these hands they are putting in the dish and that they have thus honestly earned their food. We know this, because he wrote about it to his brother Theo, on the 30th April 1885 Theo.
Van Gogh emphasized the harsh reality by exaggerating it. It was gloomy and all the persons were cramped in the cottage, so his painting had to be similarly dark and constricting. He limited his palette to greens and browns – the colours of the earth that the family worked – adding a few highlights to intensify the effect. His subjects had coarse faces and rough hands, so he gave them scrawny features and large, bony fingers.
Van Gogh himself was very pleased with the result: 'And it might well prove to be a real peasant painting. I know that it is.', he wrote.
Nowadays the Potato Eaters is one of his most celebrated works, yet its dark colours and flawed figures drew considerable criticism at the time. Van Gogh was convinced, however, that these imperfections contributed to the primitive nature of the subject.
Did you know that there are actually two paintings of the same kind?', Louisa asked to Martin.
'I've seen it in the Kröller Möller museum, but I honestly thought it was this painting', Martin admitted.
'No it isn't. He first made a sketch and then a big oil painted version of this sketch. That's the one you've seen in the Kröller Möller museum. Then he made this one in front of us. This one has much more light effect in it than the other one. Can we also go to the Kröller Möller museum, Martin? Is it far away from here?'
'Hmm, yes we can. I'd very much like to show you this beautiful park. We will do that on our way back to the South in the second week, alright?'
'Great, Louisa answered enthusiastically. Louisa and Martin both agreed on the technical skills shown in the Potato Eaters, but the both preferred the more colourful paintings from his French period. Louisa's favourite was a painting called « Seascape near Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer » painted in 1888, whereas Martin preferred a painting called "By the Seine" painted one year earlier.
'I wouldn't object to have that one in my surgery!', Martin confessed.
'I'll buy you a reproduction, Martin', Louisa laughed.
'Hmm'
A bus with Japanese tourists entered the museum so Louisa and Martin decided to head back to the hotel, get the Lexus and bid farewell to Amsterdam. The hotel manager had found them a satisfactory holiday cottage in Wijk aan Zee. He also gave Martin and Louisa some directions for their visit of Enkhuizen and advised them to visit the Zaanstreek as well.
'Rather touristic, but a good occasion to see a couple of well-preserved windmills', he told them. 'Goodbye Dr. Ellingham, Mrs. Ellingham, young man, thank you for staying with us. Have fun in the rest of our small country!'
To be continued...
I wish you all a wonderful New Year, with a lot of inspiration for new chapters or new stories.
*) more information on both museums: vangoghmuseum dot nl rijksmuseum dot nl where you can see pictures of the paintings.