De Ploeg

The artist’s association ‘De Ploeg’ was founded in 1918 in reaction to the artistic climate in Groningen. A number of young artists felt they did not have enough opportunity to develop themselves and exhibit their work. They hoped that as a group they would be able to exhibit their work and also organize exhibitions and lectures through which artists and the general public could learn about recent developments in art, architecture and literature. Among the initiators were Jan Wiegers, Johan Dijkstra, George Martens and Jan Altink. The name for the association was Altink’s idea. He felt that a lot of ground had to be broken with regard to modern art  in Groningen and suggested that ’De Ploeg’, Dutch for ‘the plow’, should be their name.

The association had no formal agenda: anyone who concerned themselves with art in a ‘serious’ fashion was eligible for membership. ‘De Ploeg’ members worked in all manner of art from the outset.

‘De Ploeg’ as an artist’s association exists to this day, but its importance in the history of art lies in the twenties of the last century. An Expressionist school within ‘De Ploeg’ was soon followed by an Impressionist one, both of which were characterized by strong ties to the region and an international artistic orientation. Important members of ‘De Ploeg’ at the time were, among others: Jan Wiegers, Johan Dijkstra, Hendrik Nicolaas Werkman, George Martens, Jan Jordens, Jan van der Zee en Job Hansen.

Expressionism

At an early stage a group of painters which took its inspiration from Expressionism, was formed within ‘De Ploeg’, led by Jan Wiegers. From 1922 on, they had a major influence on all the association’s activities. Wiegers’ art had already tended towards Expressionism but it wasn’t until he travelled to Switzerland that he was fully converted. Illness brought him to Davos in 1920-1921, where he became acquainted with the leading light of the German Expressionist movement, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. His personality and style made a lasting impression on Wiegers and when he regained his health he introduced the new trend in Groningen. Wiegers inspired Altink, Dijkstra, Werkman, Martens and others to experiment with colour, wax paint and expressive forms of graphic art. The Expressionism of ‘De Ploeg’ has its roots in the work of Vincent Van Gogh, Edvard Munch and Piet Van Wijngaerdt, yet found its framework in the work of Kirchner.
The period during which Groninger Expressionism was at the fore within ‘De Ploeg’, did not last long. Wiegers and Altink toned down their palette somewhere around 1926 and Dijkstra reverted to a more impressionist way of working three years later. Werkman hadn’t been so strongly swayed by Kirchner’s style as they had been, and went on to develop his own expressionist style of painting, although his main concern lay in printing. He started off using his hand-press, and then switched to stamp and stencil techniques, to make the prints, both figurative and abstract, which were to become famous.

Constructivism

Constructivism was an autonomous development in modern art in Groningen, that started off in 1923 in the work of Wobbe Alkema, Jan Van Der Zee, and in the printing of Hendrik Werkman. Constructivism was never to be as important to ‘De Ploeg’ as Expressionism, for a number of reasons: Van Der Zee only produced Constructivist work for a year; Werkman worked in an Expressionist vein as well as Constructivist; while the one true Constructivist, Alkema, was only a member from 1925 until 1926, for less than a year. Alkema produced most of his work outside the confines of ‘De Ploeg’.

Impressionism

Somewhere around 1927 a second period began in which a certain style became prominent within ‘De Ploeg’, mainly due to Altink. It was more impressionist, with a very expressive brush technique, and made use of light, transparent colours. Job Hansen and Altink created the most stunning work in this fashion. Hansen developed his own unique technique, in which oil colours were diluted and then used like watercolours on specially prepared panels. The manner in which his expressivity was coupled to the material he used, heralded the experimental and abstract-expressionist types of art that would develop after the Second World War.