Friday's Funerary Art ~ Stained Glass

W.L.Philippus

Wil

30~9~1917     25~11~2001

The decorated panel is made of Stained Glass in the religious Icon style.

click on the bold italic type for more information 

Friday's Funerary Art ~ Mosaics

Jacob Bouhuijs

1874 ~1950

Jannetje Bouhuijs

v. Teijningen

1879 ~ 1964

                                 

A Very Eclectic Cemetery

Oosterbeek Cemetery in Arnhem, Netherlands, is divided into two seperate but adjacent halves. The older 'South' site was established in 1899, with the newer 'North' site dating from 1957, when the original cemetery reached it's maximum capacity.

The 'South' site is laid out in a neat and formal style of orderly rows, divided by low box hedges and avenues of mature fir trees.

The 'North' site has informal winding pathways, where the grave sites are set amongst a more natural heath and woodland background.

The interment of Ashes may also be placed in one of a selection of different eclectic styles, such as the tumulus burial mounds of ancient times, made from wood chippings instead.

Or the modern ceramic 'cotton reel' and 'jar' type containers that rest securely in their own custom built table tops.

So whether you prefer the tradtional and conventional or the more natural or modern, the overwhelming peace and tranquility that can be found in the Oosterbeek Cemeteries, ensures that it certainly can provide a suitable place for everyone.    

 

Wednesday's Children

1933 ~ 1938

Onze

Lieve Addie

1940  Nici  1944



I almost missed the small child depicted on this stone when I first looked at it, unfortunately I could find no Surname for them.

UPDATE :

A big thank you goes to Henk van Kampen for the following information:

The surname is Franken.

Adrianus Franken died on 12 Nov 1938, aged 5.

Nicoline Adriana Franken died 10 Oct 1944, aged 4.
Parents were Frank Franken and Nicoline van den Brink.

Source: Genlias.nl.

Father's Day

This monument in the Zorgvlied cemetery, is dedicated to every beloved
Father and Grandfather....

Happy Father's Day

Alchemical Symbol ?

Does anyone know what the symbol above represents ?

I have found similar glyphs to the one above, like the Alchemical symbol for 'Tin'

and also the symbol for the planet Jupiter,

however both of these are in reverse to the symbol above.

I have also taken a look at Cyrillic alphabets, Runes, and Occult symbols,

but so far, it's still a Mystery to me ? 

UPDATE:

Many thanks goes to Henk van Kampen for putting this information my way.

I think that the symbol may be a Trading Symbol used by the Schoute family. And the Dirk Schoute whose headstone is featured here, shows him to be of the 4th generation of this family.

Please click the bold typed family name above for more info ~ Information is in Dutch.

Unfortunately I do not speak Dutch, so I'm unable to give anymore info and the Google translation always fails on this particular page.

If anyone would care to give any further updates, please leave a comment.

Monumental

Hier Rust

Arouwe Johanna Elisabeth Sophia Knoll

Eerder Weduwe Van Den Weled: Gest Heer

Adolph Fortgens Otter

Stichtster Der Elisabeth Otter Knoll Stichtingen

Geb: Te Utrecht 13 January 1820

Overl: Te Amsterdam 20 February 1900

The grave of Johanna Sophia Elisabeth Otter-Knoll Cemetery on Zorgvlied is a national monument, designed by the sculptor GW Harmsen.

Elisabeth was raised by her maternal grandparents in Utrecht ~ her Father being a Captain in the Army. In 1847 Elisabeth married Adolph Fortgens Otter, a wealthy business broker ~ Stock, Port, Shipbuilding ~ and she went to with him to live in Amsterdam. When Adolph died in 1858, Elisabeth inherited half of his fortune and within a few years, other relatives died, also leaving their legacies to Elisabeth, who became a very wealthy woman indeed.

Three years after the death of Adolph, Elizabeth married Reverend Henry Luëssen ~ a contractual marriage ~ with whom travelled widely. In 1887 she was widowed for the second time.

Adolph had indicated in his will, that he wanted a portion of its assets to establish a foundation and home for elderly seamen of the merchant marine and navy in Amsterdam. But from 1860, the numbers of seaman requiring care was reduced and the plan was temporarily suspended.

In 1886, one year before the death of her second husband, Elizabeth made her own will. She stated that her very large house would be converted into a residence for 'Poor and Indigent old sea Captains and Mates', as desired by her first husband. She did everything in detail, from how the interior of the house should look and at what times the seaman would be served their meals. Also that the visiting of ladies, would be by permission only.  

In 1900, shortly before her death, Elisabeth also decided to establish a Foundation for Women from the Gentry. She said 'It is my desire to create a foundation for decent ladies that are insolvent and unable without fault in her own living. With regret, I saw ever how many times the decent good women in old age, if not much in want, still many were lacking, their old days should be quiet and care free'. 
Elisabeth also left a lesser portion and land to the Amsterdam asylums and almshouses.

Elizabeth died on February 20, 1900. Leaving an inheritance of almost 2.4 million guilders. Clearly defined in her will, Elisabeth expressed how she wanted the fortune to be donated and that no living relative was to be included.
However, a distant relative contested the will and was later awarded 379,000 guilders, after deducting this amount, taxes and expenses, only 1.5 million guilders finally remained. 
In February 1912 The Elisabeth Otter-Knoll Foundation, opened the home for Ladies of the gentry in Oak Square. Queen Emma visited it in May and was impressed by the beautiful building and its setting.

In April 1916 the second project was completed, when the Elisabeth's house was converted into a home for old sailors.

By 1982, the Elderly ladies house in the Oak Square, no longer met the required standards of the time did, and has now become a general residential care home for sixty people and a complex of 72 sheltered accommodations operated by the Elizabeth Fortgens Otter Foundation, which still operate to support the elderly of Amsterdam.

Monday Mourning ~ Symbolism

This amazing pillar is full of symbolic funerary images and was one of four that stood at the corners of a memorial in the Zorgflied cemetery in Amsterdam.

The inverted Torch is a purely funerary symbol and it comes in two forms. The first one, shows a torch that is alight, indicating that even in death, the soul ~ the flames of fire ~ continue to burn brightly in another realm of existence. The second inverted torch, that which bears no flame, simply shows a life that is extinguished.

At the top of the column, the winged hourglass reminds us that time is fleeting, as the sands of time ceaselessly ebb away from one sphere of life to another. The wings further remind us of 'how time flies'.

Inside the circular carvings on the scrolls, are Butterflies that relate to it's three stages of life. With the caterpillar representing 'life', the chrysalis is for 'death' and the butterfly is ultimately 'resurrection'.

The Ouroboros ~ a snake biting or eating it's own tail ~ is a symbol of eternity, immortality and rejuvenation.

The Scallop Shell symbolises a journey or pilgrimage and is also a symbol of baptism, specifically the Baptism of Christ.

The Shell's association with the element of water, is seen as a female/goddess energy in some cultures and because the shell many contain a pearl, is considered as lucky and a sign of prosperity. 

I shall be featuring a blog on this splendid monument in the near future.

Whale Watching in the Cemetery !

These Whale tails, are a few of my favourite memorials and became one of the reasons for visiting this cemetery in the first place ~ I simply had to see them for myself.

I'll meet you on the other side

I'll meet you in the light

Don Enters

25~11~1958 17~04~2005

I've always liked the older symbolic, more elaborate Gothic style monuments, but my visit to the Zorgvlied last year, has opened up a whole new perspective on the contempary, more personal and individual styles that can be seen today.

The Zorgvlied demonstrates how well, the traditional and modern can exist side by side and retain all it's charm, style and tastefulness.  

Shine On.....

A.G. van der Weijden

16~10~1961     04~06~2005

Friday's Funerary Art ~ Sculpture

Walking round the Zorgvlied Cemetery in Amsterdam, is like strolling through an open air Art gallery, where all of the pieces just happen to be memorials to those who have departed.
Unfortunately, I was unable to find much information on the sculptures that follow, however the cemetery does have brochures of walking tours around the cemetery, that list the well-known and famous, sadly it's in Dutch.

 

? De Munck

Friday's Funerary Art ~ Mosaic

Jessie Kahn

Amsterdam 14~11~1967

Tel~Aviv 23~10~1990

Musicians ~ Guitar Man

Jan Blok

Guitarist

06-08-1923 ~ 30-11-1995

Dag Mijn Liefje

Carla

Jan Blok is seen in this video playing the guitar, whilst Greetje Kauffeld sings 'I couldn't sleep a wink last night' 

Friday's Funerary Artist

1898 Theo Swagemakers 1994

1910 Elly Swagemakers 1999

Theo Swagemakers wanted to be a painter and took lessons and took classes with Jan Petrus van Delft. In 1923 he trained in Brussels, at the Academie Royale des Beaux Arts and in 1926 he continued his studies at the Academy Colo Rossi in Paris.
In 1929 he got his first major exhibition in Paris Galerie Jacob.

Theo was a prolific painter of portraits, some eleven hundred portraits are known to be his and include members of the royal family, prelates, industrialists and bankers, but also colleagues, friends and his wife Elly and their only child, Victor.
And so he was much in demand as a portraitist.

Elly 1944

Victor 1941

Self-portrait 1940

Besides portraits, he also painted landscapes, seascapes and still lifes in particular.
Making a total of some two thousand pieces of work.
Many of which are on display at the Swagemakers Museum in Haarlem, which opened in 1999.

Sweetpeas

Swagemakers painting Louis Moon

Studio on Herengracht, Amsterdam

Wednesday's Child

Johanna Vroom

31 May 1999 ~ 31 May 1999

Friday's Funerary Artist

Eugenie Godefroy Werners

11-11-1944       27-01-2008

Zorgvlied, Amsterdam, Netherlands 

Here are some of Eugenie's Paintings

Reflectie Regenboog

Elia

Doornen

To see more work, please click here