Charley Toorop, Edgar Fernhout and Eva Besnyö

Focus exhibition

until June 26, 2022

Until June 26, Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar presents a focus exhibition in the Bergen Schoolroom featuring works by Charley Toorop, Edgar Fernhout and Eva Besnyö. The works are linked by the family ties of the creators and the period and place in which the artworks were created. The temporary exhibition is a special gathering of all the three artists' work from the museum's own collection.

Artist family

Artist Charley Toorop (1891- 1955), daughter of the famous Jan Toorop (1858-1928) - the nestor of modern Dutch art - lived intermittently in Bergen. During her short, turbulent marriage to Henk Fernhout, she had three children, Edgar (1912-1974), John (1913-1987) and Annetje (1916-1956). Edgar Fernhout followed in the footsteps of his mother and grandfather and became a painter. Son John became a well-known filmmaker and photographer. In 1933 he married Hungarian-Jewish Eva Besnyö (1910-2003) who is now considered one of the most important photographers in the Netherlands. For the first time in a long time, Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar is showing all the paintings by Charley Toorop and Edgar Fernhout from its own collection, combined with works on paper and a photo series Besnyö made of Charley. The combination of the works shows the cross connections in this remarkable dynasty of artists and results in an exhibition of penetrating eyes, robust heads, finely detailed landscapes, abstracted forests and iconic black-and-white photographs.

Charley Toorop

In 1916 Charley was part of the artists' association Het Signaal and her work joined that of the artists of the Bergen School. Soon, however, she took a different path. The visible reality had to be the starting point; in addition, she also wanted to realize a "spirited imagination" in paint. During her stay in Paris in 1921, she discovered the Fajou portraits from Egyptian antiquity. Especially the way the Egyptian portraits looked directly at the viewer with large eyes made a deep impression. Starting in 1930, Charley developed her signature style. She made many (self) portraits, including the portrait of sculptor John Rädecker and his family. In addition, her works include The Cheese Carriers and Golden Currants to see.

Edgar Fernhout
At an early age, Edgar began painting. Under the watchful eye of his mother, Edgar developed his own highly detailed realistic style. Because of his wife Rachel Pellekaan's health and to escape his mother's powerful personality, Edgar stayed in Italy for several years beginning in 1936. Due to the threat of war, the couple decided to return to Bergen. There Fernhout's first realistic landscapes were created, including the recently acquired View of Alkmaar. Later his style changed and touches of paint and color and light effects played a greater role. After the death of his mother, he moved into De Vlerken and developed an abstract way of working there. His development as an artist can be clearly seen in the collection of Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar.

Eva Besnyö

Shortly after her marriage to John Fernhout, Hungarian photographer Eva Besnyö had her first solo exhibition at Kunsthandel Van Lier in Amsterdam. After that, she made reports for various press agencies and mostly portraits in her studio. She also photographed her private life, including the circle of artists around Charley Toorop. The museum shows photographs of her mother-in-law in her studio and the garden of her home De Vlerken on the Buerweg in Bergen. Beautiful are the photographs showing the cheese carriers posing in the studio and those of Charley painting in her garden.

Exempt from the surcharge are: