Life and Work of Jaap Schreurs (1913-1983) Painter and father |
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8.0 Death and beyond |
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Elderly man strolling along industrial zone etching 1979
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December 1982 |
On the morning of February 16, 1983, Marja and Paula found Jaap dead, with Krishnamurti's Journal opened in his lap. After all the hustle and bustle surrounding the cremation ceremony and the winding up of the estate, it became clear that there was a lot of work to be done regarding the paintings. Besides setting up the exhibition in the VARA building in Hilversum that had already been planned, we also wanted to get an overview of Jaap’s entire work, in order to see what we might do with it. In preparation for this, a frame-maker came to the studio every day for months to frame as many works as possible. Paula also worked there, to provide all pieces with a description, date and classification, so that a catalogue could be set up. Then each went to work with the material in the way he or she deemed best.
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Ear and note: “Friday at home – threat of heart attack”- ballpoint and pencil in scratch-pad, November 1982 |
Pencil drawing on paper ± 1948 21x24cm
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Initially, the framer had little affinity with the work. With some concern, he even wondered whether it hadn't been difficult for Nelleke and Paula to grow up in the midst of these images. But Paula was able to reassure him: it hadn't. On the contrary, in the lives of her sister and herself, these images had provided a basis from which to approach reality in all its layers. And as mother Eva would say, if we bumped up against something: "It all exists". Even then, despite the sizeable job that lay ahead of her in the studio, Paula was grateful for the natural contact she felt with her father when looking at every piece passing through her hands, even though he was not there anymore. Towards the end of that studio job, the framer now also concurred in this: Gradually he, too, had developed a connection with the work and had experienced his own special moments with it.
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The Silent Party, 1983 215x244cm acrylic paint on hardboard
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For Nelleke and Paula, the presentation on this website stands for their testimony of the uncorruptible individuality of their father, who, with sustained stamina and a remarkable resilience, accepted all that presented itself in him, and without looking away or taking a break, had explored and lived through this via his work, right until the end.
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Study of horses with human eyes, scrap paper 21x14cm
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2021 |
copyright and contact |
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1978-1983 |
final years |
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access to all periods |
by Nelleke and Paula |
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