De onbekende wereld van Henk Melgers

Abstract

Henk Melgers (1899-1973) is an interesting Groningen painter, who until now has remained in the shadow of contemporaries such as Altink, Wiegers and Dijkstra. Melgers was a member of De Ploeg in the heyday of this group of artists and, like his fellow members, he painted the Groningen landscape and farm life. More than with other Ploeg members, his work incorporates the hard life of workers on the land. This social involvement can be found even more strongly in Melgers' graph, which he produced for socialist and communist publications during the crisis years. At the end of the thirties - Melgers had meanwhile moved to Amsterdam - and especially after the war his work shows a big change, Melgers paints the most magical-realistic, fairytale-like scenes that have a special charm. Exhibition: Museum Verhildersum, Leens, the Netherlands (2021)