OIl on canvas 38 x 22.5 cm, ca. 1924
Provenance:
Johan Faber (1902-1979); Kunsthandel Hofsteenge, Groningen.
Is it the sun shining high above the houses? In this work, Wobbe Alkema leaves room for interpretation. Alkema was a versatile artist who explored various styles and techniques throughout his long career. His constructivist work from the 1920s—which includes "Blue Composition with Verticals"—is among his most compelling.
During this period, Alkema was a member of the Groningen artists' association De Ploeg for several years, though he never felt completely at home there. He remained a distinctive soloist, developing his own style. Nevertheless, his time with De Ploeg was important for his artistic development. Through fellow member Jan Altink, Alkema came into contact with the Belgian art magazine Het Overzicht, which featured constructivism. The emphasis on geometric shapes and abstraction strongly appealed to him: for Alkema, this represented industrial and social progress.
In the summer of 1924, the year this painting was created, Alkema cycled from Groningen to Antwerp to meet like-minded artists. A year later, he made the journey again, this time by train. He made friends with Belgian artists, and the influence of these trips was profound. In Belgium, Alkema found the visual language he sought: a style that resonated with his inner urge to express himself in objectified, pure forms. He translated what he saw and experienced there into paintings and prints distinguished by rhythm, monumentality, and a striking visual harmony.
Wobbe Alkema, in 1924, joined the artist-movement of the Groninger Ploeg after finishing his education at the Minerva Academy in Groningen. In 1929, he traveled to Hamburg and was exposed to non-figurative art. It spoke to him immediately and his art is heavily influenced by it as a result. Time on time again, Alkema proved to be one of the few Ploeg-painters who let himself be inspired by new, avant-gardist art. His abstract, post-war works a ...
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