TRAVEL28

REGULAR viewers ofthe BBC’s AntiquesRoadshow will recog-nise Sir LawrenceAlma-Tadema’s paint-

ing of the etcher LeopoldLöwenstam, an artwork cur-rently displayed at theFrisian Museum at Leeuwar-den, in the Netherlands.

The painting of Löwenstam atwork was rediscovered by artexpert Rupert Maas, a presenteron the television show, in anepisode broadcast during Sep-tember.

It hangs as part of the Alma-Tadema: Classical Charm exhibi-tion that opened last weekendand continues until February 7,2017.

Leeuwarden becomes a Euro-pean Capital of Culture in 2018and the Alma-Tadema show isthe first of three major exhibi-tions being held at the FrisianMuseum over the next couple ofyears.

All three focus on the lives ofpeople born in or near the Frisiancapital.

The next exhibition will beabout the life of Mata Hari, theexotic dancer and who was con-victed of being a spy.

She was born in Leeuwarden asMargaretha Zelle and executedby firing squad in Paris in 1917.

The show will coincide with thecentenary of that controversialevent.

MC Escher, the graphic artist,who was born in the city in 1898

and became renowned for per-spective-warping scenes such asRelativity, will be featured dur-ing 2018.

Many British art lovers arealready familiar with the work ofAlma-Tadema, who moved to

England in 1870 and lived in Lon-don for the rest of his life.

That his remains are interredwithin St Paul’s Cathedral is tes-timony to the high regard inwhich the artist was held by hiscontemporaries.

Manchester Art Gallery’s col-lection holds seven of his works,including Silver Favourites, whichwas painted in 1903, four yearsafter the artist was knighted byQueen Victoria.

The boldly coloured paintingdepicts three Roman women on acurved marble bench overlookinga deep blue sea.

It is typical of work from theartist’s later years. His paintingsalso hang in Liverpool’s publicgalleries and A Lover of Art,painted in 1868, features in thecollection of Glasgow’s Kelvin-grove Art Gallery and Museum.

Alma-Tadema’s works werecollected by Victorian industrial-ists, making the artist a wealthyman, and his paintings were dis-played internationally within hisown lifetime.

Collectors would pay thou-sands of pounds for his paintings,most of which depict scenes fromancient times.

His oeuvre is again coming intovogue.

In 2010, an anonymous collec-tor paid almost $36m for TheFinding of Moses, at a Sotheby’sauction in New York.

The painting was once ownedby Allen Funt, of Candid Camerafame. Its price makes Alma-Tadema the most valuable Victo-rian artist.

The masterpiece is hung inLeeuwarden just a few metresfrom The Roses of Heliogabalus,

which is owned by the billionaireJuan Antonio Pérez Simón.

Alma-Tadema: Classical Charmincludes paintings loaned fromgalleries and private collectionsaround the world.

In addition to displaying art-works and objects from his homesand studios, the exhibition fea-tures snippets from several of thefilms influenced by the artist’scarefully researched depictionsof life in ancient times.

Juxtaposed with his paintingsare scenes from blockbusters,such as the 1959 William Wyler-directed film Ben-Hur, illustrat-ing how Alma-Tadema’s imageryand use of light was mirrored bycinematographers from Edwar-dian times onwards.

The Dutch name for the FrisianMuseum is the Fries Museum(pronounced ‘frees’), which canresult in some visitors from Eng-lish-speaking lands mistakenlyanticipating exhibitions relatingto the triple-fried chipped pota-toes that are such a popularsnack across the Netherlands andneighbouring Belgium.

The impressive, three-storeybuilding — designed by Hubert-

Jan Henket — overlooks the Wil-helminaplein, a square that onFridays hosts a weekly market.Fruit and vegetables, Dutchcheeses and fish products numberamong the items sold at the mar-ket’s stalls.

Anyone looking for fries—or,for that matter, traditional deli-cacies such as maatjes (herrings)or even Turkish-style snacks —can purchase portions from thenumerous food trucks that parkon the square for the duration ofthe market.

The spacious museum openedin 2013 after being funded by an18m bequest from Abe Bonnema,

the Frisian architect. Walkingits broad staircase provide anopportunity to view Dutch andFrisian words displayed side byside.

The region’s language is offi-cially recognised and spoken byin excess of 400,000 people.

The second floor houses theFrisian Resistance Museumwhich tells the harrowing storyof the impact of the Nazi occupa-tion on Friesland.

It features eyewitness accountsand an evocative collection ofartefacts.

The first murderous round-upof Jewish inhabitants took place

It’s all in the name,so don’t expect afry-up at this museum

❝Harrowing

story of Nazioccupation

Stuart Forstervisits Leeuwarden,a European Capitalof Culture in 2018,and enjoys theworks of an artistwho featuresfrequently on TV’s AntiquesRoadshow

SIR Lawrence Alma-Tadema’s The Finding of Moses, 1904, on display at the Frisian Museum

PICTURE ©2016 CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LIMITED

THE city of Leeuwarden, seen from theOldehove, a medieval leaning tower inLeeuwarden, the Netherlands. The cityis the capital of Friesland

PICTURES: STUART FORSTER

29Jewish Telegraph

Friday October 7, 2016

in April 1942. By February, 1943the overwhelming majority ofLeeuwarden’s congregation,which numbered 733 in 1930, hadbeen deported.

Betje and Roosje Cohen, twinsisters, were born in 1881 and sur-vived into the 1950s.

They were the daughters ofSalomon Cohen, who made hismoney shining shoes at the city’srailway station. The women lostfive brothers and two sisters dur-ing the Holocaust.

Roosje was a recognisable fig-ure at the city’s Friday market,working there from the age of 10.

It’s thought she survivedbecause of her marriage to thecigar manufacturer Johannes vanDijk.

A memorial to both sisters,sculpted by Karianne Krabben-dam, stands in the city and Roos-je’s story is told as part of anaudio trail through Leeuwarden.

The city’s Jewish populationpeaked at around 1,400 in the late19th century, partially as a resultof being swelled by immigrationfrom eastern Europe.

The growth in numbers result-ing in the synagogue, at Sacra-mentsstaat 19, being extended in

the 1860s, according to a designlaid down by the architect Her-man Rudolph Scott.

The place of worship was erect-ed in 1805 and stood at the heartof the largest Jewish communityin the northern Netherlands.

Community buildings werebuilt nearby. A monument bear-ing the Star of David, inscribedin Dutch and Hebrew, marks the

site of a school that stood from1886 until 1943.

Following the Second WorldWar, the Jewish population ofLeeuwarden climbed above 100but soon declined, in part due toemigration.

Consequently, the synagoguewas converted for communal useby the city’s general population.

A number of objects from thedecommissioned place of worshipcan now be viewed at the Jewish

Historical Museum in Amster-dam.

By rail, Amsterdam is aroundtwo hours’ travelling time fromLeeuwarden, which has directconnections with Schiphol Air-port.

To orientate within Leeuwar-den, nowhere can match theobservation platform at the topof the Oldehove, the city’s mosticonic landmark.

The leaning tower stands 39metres tall, less than a third ofthe structure’s intended 120-metre height.

Jacob van Aken realised theground he was building on wassinking shortly after construc-tion began and abandoned theproject in 1533.

Inevitably, comparisons aremade with the Oldehove’s famouscounterpart in Pisa.

Over the next couple of yearsit’s likely that visitor numbers tothis compact Dutch city willgrow markedly.

For anyone who appreciates artand heritage, Leeuwarden war-rants a visit and proves a pleas-ant base for exploring attractionselsewhere in Friesland.

❝Salomon made

his money shining shoes

� Stay abreast of Leeuwarden’s European Capital ofCulture programme by visiting the www.2018.nlwebsite.

� The www.friesland.nl and www.holland.comwebsites are both sources of information on things todo and see in and around Leeuwarden.

LEEUWARDEN AND FRIESLAND

A BICYCLE parked in centralLeeuwarden, the Netherlands. Canalswere once the most effective means oftransport in Friesland

ROOSSJE Cohen's former residence in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands. Cohen wasborn in 1881 and worked at the city’s weekly market