Dick Ket (1902-1940)

Born in Den Helder. Died in Bennekom.1902Dick Ket was born in Den Helder with a congenital heart defect. In the 1920s he lives in Hoorn, where his interest in drawing is awakened. Subsequently, the Ket family moves to Ede.1922-1925He studies for his drawing certificates at the applied arts secondary school of the society Kunstpraktijk in Arnhem.1929He visits the exhibition Neue Sachlichkeit in Amsterdam. This exhibition made such a big impression on him that he decided to paint a similar kind of realism. The painting Still life with violin is the first work he makes in this style. He becomes a member of Arti et Amicitiae, where he can exhibit.1930Ket lives a secluded life with his parents in Bennekom. His illness and increasing fear of the street keep him from leaving the house. The most important means of escaping his isolation is the correspondence he conducts with, among others, Nel Schilt, his former fellow student and fiancée, and Johan Mekkink. After experimenting with Expressionism and other modern movements, Ket develops a style all his own: a new form. of realism. Realistic, because in visible reality he sees the confirmation of his own philosophy of life. New, because, in his opinion, art must meet its time and address the problems at stake at that time.1930-1940 Dick Ket's new realism Due to his deteriorating health, he spends his time mainly in his studio. In the privacy of the studio he paints objects of his own 'microcosm': for him a reflection of the outside world. Recurring objects are: the stone bowl ('K Ben 'n Kom = Bennekom), the enamelled wash basin, the checkered towel, apothecary bottles and the advertising posters of the Frenchman Cassandre. He used these posters as an example in determining the composition and as a counterbalance to his realistic style. With his precise and perfectionistic realism, he paints his enclosed environment and himself in many ways. In total he makes about forty self-portraits. His main concern here is an objective representation of reality. Ket had a very personal view of life. In short, he started from two opposing worlds: the world of 'being' versus the world of 'non-being', which together determined the coherence of life. From 1934 he makes increasingly higher demands on his technique. Due to the frequent use of linseed oil and the experimentation with new binding agents, some of his works are still not dry after fifty years. In total he made one hundred and forty paintings. 1940 Dick Ket dies in Bennekom.