Herman van der Worp - Laying one - Sold

Herman van der Worp (1849-1941)

Hermannus Wilhelm (Herman) van der Worp was born on January 8, 1849 in Zutphen. He had eleven sisters and brothers. Father Willem had an artistic education in Antwerp and was a drawing teacher at the HBS in Zutphen. He also worked as a painter and was known as a professional photographer for several years. Like his father, Herman became a photographer and painter. Herman's oldest work as a painter dates from around 1875. In the Municipal Museum of Zutphen there is a work from 1878 called: 'View of Zutphen'. Here you can already recognize the warm color tones that he also used in many of his autumn scenes. For years he combined photography with painting until he hung up his camera just before the turn of the century. He used watercolours, charcoal, pastel and especially oil paint to express how he saw his environment in an artistic way. His experience as a photographer influenced this. He looked, as it were, through a lens at nature and the environment and managed to capture exactly the section that mattered. During his time in Zutphen, Herman also became active in association life. For example, he was a board member of the Pictura art association for many years, where, among other things, he held the position of 'director of order', which means that he is “more specifically charged with the organization and management of Art Viewings and Exhibitions.” In 1924, when he was already living in Delden, he was appointed honorary member. Herman was also a member of the militia and in Delden of the Armonia singing association.
From Zutphen to Delden Herman van der Worp registers in the guestbook of hotel De Zwaan in 1904 as HW vd Worp with place of residence Zutphen. Herman was already 57 when he settled permanently in Delden in August 1906. He immediately felt at home and also attracted by the natural environment. We don't know exactly why he chose Delden now. He certainly also looked at the Veluwe in Apeldoorn, around The Hague and with his brother in Purmerend. Around 1906 he decided to move into Hotel Carelshaven. Until his illness in 1939, he enjoyed room and board there for 40 guilders a week. 'His' room 28, just under the roof of the hotel, can still be admired in its original state, including a steel bed. In 1907 he met the baron. Herman van der Worp is said to have met this in the forest opposite Carelshaven, where the baron must have said: 'I am building a studio for you'. And he kept his word. A studio was built especially for Van der Worp on the Zaagmolenweg, within walking distance of Carelshaven. From May 1, 1908 to 1940, Herman paid 30 guilders annual rent for this; an amount that was never increased during his lifetime.
Tricycle Adorned with a long beard, Herman moved in and around Delden in a striking manner; on a tricycle. This way it stood out even more in the street scene. Writer/journalist Herman Haverkate featured him in his book 'Scribbles on old Ansichten' and Mrs. J. van de Meene-de Jong stated the following about Van der Worp in a publication by De Jan Lucaskamp in 1987: “it was Sinterklaas in person. He rode his tricycle in the middle of the "big" street. He was not married and 60 to 70 years old and a real friend of children. On December 5, we neighboring children were allowed to leave the shoe with him and pick it up the next day. We then had a present and something tasty...'. This and other traditions show that Herman must not have been an eccentric or aloof man. He enjoyed the freedom, being alone with nature and the environment as Simon de Heer, Rabbers and Krul. The beautiful portrait of Van der Worp from 1930 dates from Simon de Heer, which can still be seen in Carelshaven.
Work Van der Worp must have made hundreds of pieces in his long working life. Many works have been spread across the country and even sold to the United States. The location and existence of 160 is known. In the Netherlands, paintings hang in the Veenkoloniaal Museum, Stedelijk Museum Zutphen, TwentseWelle, on Twickel, Carelshaven and in many private homes, especially in and around Delden. He also made a mural in the conservatory of Hotel de Zwaan, which unfortunately disappeared around 1969.
From 1939 until his death in April 1941 he stayed in the Roman Catholic Hospital in Delden. Herman was buried at the general cemetery in Delden, where his grave can still be seen.