Card Art: Blijdendijk

Our final entry in this series of Eurodam art by Stephen Card features his painting of Blijdendijk. Built in 1943 at the New England Shipbuilding Corporation in Portland, Maine, for the United States Maritime Commission, it originally was named Tobias Lear and sailed as a cargo ship. The ship was 134.6 meters (642 feet) long and 17.4 meters (81 feet) at the beam.

In 1944 the Dutch government took over and renamed it Fort Orange. It was the only Liberty-class ship to have a name starting with “Fort.” Holland America Line was given the ship to manage in 1945, and the company acquired the vessel in 1947 and renamed it Blijdendijk. However, HAL only kept the ship for 10 years and sold it to Ditti Luigi Pittaluga Vapori in 1957. The ship was stranded near the Rio Grande Do Sul in 1967, and after the cargo and fittings were removed it was abandoned as a total loss.

Card Art: Statendam IV

This is the last in our series of paintings by Stephen Card that will adorn the stairwells of Eurodam. This piece is of Statendam IV, which was built in The Netherlands in 1956.

Statendam IV was 195.8 meters (642 feet) long and 24.6 meters (81 feet) at the beam with a draft of 8.4 meters (27.5 feet). The ship was named by HRH Princess Beatrix of The Netherlands, and and departed on Holland America’s first world cruise Jan. 7, 1958, from New York.

In 1986 Statendam IV was sold to Regency Cruise Lines and sailed Alaska, the Caribbean and the Mediterranean as Regent Star until 1995, when the ship was laid up in Piraeus, Greece, after Regent declared bankruptcy.

Card Art: Rotterdam IV

In our continuing series of Eurodam art by Stephen Card, today we’re featuring his painting of Rotterdam IV. The fourth version of the line’s flagship was built in 1908 at Harlan & Wolff Ltd. in Belfast, Ireland. Rotterdam IV was 203.53 meters (667 feet) long with a beam of 23.47 meters (77 feet), and a draft of 10 meters (32.8 feet). Its service speed was 16.5 knots.

Rotterdam IV carried 32 first-class, 555 second-class and 2,232 third-class passengers (of which 1,064 were housed in collapsible cabins). The ship was the largest in the North Atlantic fleet until 1929 when Statendam was introduced, and was the first liner to have a glass-enclosed promenade deck for the use of first-class passengers. The ship was sold for scrap in 1939.

The Art of Stephen Card

This week we are featuring the maritime art of Stephen Card, a longtime contributor to Holland America Line’s shipboard art galleries. Card’s maritime oil paintings usually are featured in the forward stairwells on Holland America ships. This week we will preview four pieces that will be installed on Eurodam, starting with a painting of Eurodam.

Miniature Theaters to Decorate Culinary Arts Center

VFD Architects of Utrecht commissioned two miniature theater sculptures for Eurodam. The artist is Rodolfo Sanz, who studied fine arts at the Manuel Belgrano School in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and now lives in the Netherlands.

The two theaters Sanz created will be placed near the Culinary Arts Center, located amidships on Lower Promenade Deck. Given the location, Sanz took food and cooking as themes.

The results are two richly decorated and whimsical theaters. One depicts a luxurious dining room decorated with gold, red curtains and baroque mirrors. On a table covered with a white tablecloth is an enormous apple. A small slice has been cut and served on a plate for an unseen guest.

The other piece shows us the interior of a large theater with red chairs, glamorous balconies and a beautifully hand-painted ceiling. A large chandelier hangs in the center of the room, and little lights can be seen on the balconies. The attentive watcher will detect a group of animals hidden on one of the balconies, curiously watching a lone figure sitting in the middle of the empty theater — a cook.

VFD Architects Reveals Ceiling Designs for Atrium, Dining Room

Sketch of the design of the dining room ceiling sculpture.

VFD Architects of Utrecht, The Netherlands, designed two large ceiling pieces for the atrium and the main dining room on Eurodam. The glass sculptures were created by Vincent Jansen for VFD in 2007.

“These sculptures are inspired by chandeliers,” said VFD’s Frans Dingemans. “Through the simplification of this form, the ceilings give an abstract and very intense experience.”

The atrium’s floral ceiling sculpture.

For the atrium Dingemans said he wanted a less abstract effect. “The ceiling will be filled with flowers,” he noted. “Transparent flower-shaped forms will form a cluster which comes down from the ceiling. Through this art decoration the atrium will become a harmonious and impressive space.”

Dutch Art: Bas Sebus Blends the Real and Surreal

Original art plans for Eurodam called for all inside staterooms to be adorned with a beautiful collection of giclee prints (pronounced zhee-clay; a recently invented ink-jet printing process that is a high-quality method of art reproduction) of the work of Dutch painter Bas Sebus. But Holland America Line President and CEO Stein Kruse liked Sebus’ work so much he suggested the artist’s prints be used in all of the ship’s staterooms.

Sebus says the content of his images originates from philosophical and literary sources, resulting in paintings that illustrate an idea and are highly communicative and often whimsical.

Despite his talent, Sebus did not start out as a painter; the 46-year-old originally studied medicine in Amsterdam. He taught himself how to paint in oil and tempera by reading books. As a result, Sebus developed a unique style that shares the technical merits of the traditional Dutch school of realistic painters, but blends in a touch of the surreal.

Sebus’ work is in great demand by private collectors as well as large companies. He has created large-scale panels for several restaurants on Holland America Line ships, including Statendam and Amsterdam.

Kunst&Ko Cut Up and Recombine the Masters

‘17th Century Old Masters Collage’ is a digital work of art

The father-son team of Peter and Sven de Ru are known for startling juxtapositions of images in their work, and “17th Century Old Masters Collage” is firmly within their oeuvre. The digital collage, made up of images lifted from works by Dutch masters and recombined, is destined to adorn Eurodam’s Pinnacle Grill. The pair, who live in Leiden — hometown to many of the great Dutch painters — have been creating together under the brand Kunst&Ko since 1996. Peter was an architect and self-taught painter until 1975, when he became a full-time artist. Sven studied graphic art and worked in advertising before joining his father to create both original and commissioned art.

Ship designer Frans Dingemans of VFD Architects, who selected the piece for Eurodam’s collection, said that because the artists hail from Leiden it is no coincidence that, while their collage might appear unorthodox, it truly is an inspired homage to world-famous artworks produced during the Dutch Golden Age.

“Their way of making art doesn’t fit these old techniques at all,” said Dingemans. “The most modern equipment is used to bring new life to the Old Masters’ works.”

‘Saskia with Staircase’ is from the Rembrandt Project Kunst&Ko did in 2006

He noted that Kunst&Ko’s digital collages are selections of the best and most famous details of the 17th-century works.

“Don’t be prejudiced that their work is only a copy of the Old Masters’ works, because we find an enormous creativity in their work,” said Dingemans. “The use of many surrealistic jokes makes their work a pleasure to view. Every new look at it will be a different experience.”

Dutch Art: The Photorealism of Jan van ‘t Hoff

Frans Dingemans, of VFD Architects in Utrecht, selected most of the art and antiques in the Eurodam collection. Here, he explains why he chose Jan van ‘t Hoff’s work:

“At first sight, the works of Dutch painter Jan van ‘t Hoff look like professionally made photographs,” said Dingemans. “By the use of a dark background, the eye is immediately attracted by the fruits and flowers, which are beautifully lighted. But when close attention is paid, fine brushstrokes will give away the realistic illusion. These wonderful paintings testify to a great skill earned by years of practice, which stands in the tradition of centuries-old Dutch still-life painting.”

Van ‘t Hoff explains his approach to his art this way:

“My nature still lifes have a light foreground and a dark background,” he wrote for the Dee Twee Pauwen Gallery in The Hague, Netherlands. “With this abstracting from the surroundings, attention is focused on the interaction of light and shadow.

“The abstract surfaces in a painting have the same function as white paper for a poem,” van ‘t Hoff continued. “Thus a specific image-poetry develops. By connecting the subject matter only loosely to its natural surroundings, room is created for new meanings.”

Dutch Art: Sea Maps of the 17th Century

Johannes Vingboons’ watercolors illustrated the exotic corners of the world.

The world of the Dutch East India Company in the 17th century is, says Frans Dingemans, “an inexhaustible source of inspiration.” Dingemans, of the design firm VFD, the long-time designer of Holland America Line’s ship interiors, says he finds the nautical maps made by artists to be especially intriguing.

One of the most famous of the master Dutch cartographers was Johannes Vingboons (1616-1670). Between 1640 and 1670 he and his assistants produced hundreds of beautiful watercolor maps and illustrations.

“His maps show us places from all over the world which the Dutch traders were in contact with,” says Dingemans. “In the 17th century, most of these maps were kept in secret by the VOC [Dutch East India Co.], because of the competition between the trading countries.”

From descriptions of seafarers and merchants who traveled on the Dutch ships, Vingboons made city elevations, plans, coastal profiles and sea charts. By combining these various images Vingboons could create an accurate representation of the exotic corners of the world then known to Dutch trade. For many of those regions, Vingboons’ paintings are our earliest images.

“Remarkable is the fact Johannes Vingboons didn’t leave his hometown Amsterdam for making these maps!” notes Dingemans. “He had various ways for gaining information, for example, contact with Dutch seaman.”

Dingemans says that beside the maps, Vingboons’ beautiful landscapes and cityscapes in warm watercolors tell us much about 17th-century architecture and way of life.

“We made a selection of the best and most interesting works for exhibition onboard Eurodam,” Dingemans said. “Special attention will be paid to the routes of the Dutch VOC ships around the world and the enormous amount of treasures and products they shipped from countries all over the world.”