Exhibition open till 6 may 2007
Jewish culture of ex libris in the Netherlands
text and photographs by Giuseppe Raudino
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“Joodse exlibriscultuur in Nederland” (Jewish culture of ex libris in the Netherlands) is the name of the exhibition which takes place at the main library of the University of Groningen, Holland, until May 6, 2007.
Nico Bulder, xilography, 1940
This amazing exhibition is part of a very ambitious project named
“Exlibris van Joden in Nederland” (Jewish
ex libris in the Netherlands) promoted by Jan Aarts,
a scholar affiliated to the Huizinga Institute at the University
of Amsterdam, F.J. Hoogewoud, conservator
at the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana and Chris
Kooyman, a researcher of the University of Amsterdam
who undertook an interesting social and demographic study about
the Jewish presence in Holland.
The project started in 2002 and was aimed at the comprehension of several phenomena linked to a big collection of Jewish ex libris (the database increased year after year and now it reaches about 1400 exemplars), such as the analysis of social-cultural-historical background or the discovery of biographical information of the owners and the artists behind these works of art. As a matter of fact, the main purpose would be an exhaustive evaluation inherent in the Dutch panorama of Jewish ex libris.
The idea took the cue from a group of two hundred ex libris, kept in the Hebrew Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana, that belonged to professor Philip van Praag (1887-1942), to his son Philip van Praag Jr. (1914-2000) and his grandson Philip van Praag (1949), who is currently a researcher in political studies at the University of Amsterdam.
Roel Oostra, 1941 ca
Since it is impossible to show all the gathered ex libris, a relevant selection has been arranged for the event organized by the University of Groningen. And so, on the third floor, surrounded by a great atmosphere of silence, shelves full of ancient books and young people focused in their readings, eight showcases and a couple of panels illustrate this little and precious treasure made of nice drawings and old names.
The first showcase concerns with Jewish symbols. All these ex libris belonged to Philip van Praag senior and deal with some well known images connected with Israel. Besides them, however, we mustn’t forget that there are many less common symbols, such as flowers, wine and cypresses, that stand for the creation of the new Israel [1] and that are kept in showcase number four.
The second showcase keeps a number of ex libris about the Hebrew language and religion, while the third one is focused on Zionism.
Showcase number five is named “Ieder zijn eigen exlibris!” (Everybody [with] his own ex libris) and collects a group of ex libris belonged to the family van Praag, which moved in 1675 to the Netherlands. In this case, 41 ex libris of 26 different people are shown and a genealogical tree facilitates to individuate the intricate relationships between them.
Fré Cohen, wood engraving,
1933
The sixth showcase explains where the quotes available on the Hebrew
ex libris come from, pointing out four topics: biblical passages
with a character whose name is the same of the committer’s;
Zionistic matters; jobs and arts; popular wisdom and proverbs.
A selected bibliography about books on ex libris and a wide documentation of the Jewish presence in the Netherlands is shown, instead, in showcase number seven, which collects several publications owned by the Groningen university library.
Finally, in the last showcase, the visitors will find an interesting selection of Jewish ex libris related to the north of the Netherlands, including not only the province of Groningen but also the provinces of Friesland and Drenthe.
Artist and tecnique unknown
Beyond thousands of students who usually frequent the university library, the exhibition attracted a lot of interested people. Some of them even came from abroad, and the major part was living in Germany, Poland and Israel. Naturally, most foreign visitors hoped to find out some ex libris which belonged to one of their relatives, and so their interest was actually double, because they enjoyed the exhibition and looked for a piece of history of the family.
Thus, isn’t this the demonstration that ex libris are not only a public work of art but also a sign of private memory that conceals tastes, believes and human vicissitudes? (...)
[1] Chaya Brasz, “Wat ex-librissen vertellen”, Niw, 17 September 2004, p. 64
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