Written by Simone | 26th June 2018
This week we present a very special edition of our Expert’s Choice feature. Our modern art expert, Anita Helmy, is excited to share the story behind 'Heracles met Hydra,' a unique sculpture by Dutch Artist Nic Jonk (1928-1994) inspired by the labours of Heracles and the labours of his own life. The sculpture is being offered up for auction by Nic Jonk's son, Zeger Jonk, who looks after the legacy of his father and the Nic Jonk Museum. The sculpture will be up for auction from 29th June - 14th July (2018) and can be found in our Exclusive Sculptures auction.
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The sculpture on auction: 'Heracles met Hydra' or 'Victory' by Nic Jonk
At Catawiki we stand for special objects that you can't just find in any store, object that are unique and tell a story. The sculpture by Dutch sculptor Nic Jonk we have in auction this week is an example of an object with a story. The sculpture, called: 'Heracles met Hydra' or 'Victory', is one of very few sculptures by Jonk that is completely unique, mainly because of its size. It derives from The Twelve Labours Of Heracles (Hercules) from Greek mythology - a series of tasks Heracles has to complete in order to atone for murdering his son, daughter and wife after being driven mad by Hera (queen of the Gods). The sculpture tells the story of Heracles' second labour. Heracles was sent to destroy Hydra Lernaia - a gigantic, nine-headed water-serpent that haunted the swamps of Lerna. He was sent to destroy her, but for each of her heads he decapitated, two more sprang forth. Eventually, with some help, Heracles defeats Hydra by burning off the stumps, preventing new heads from growing back. The battle between Heracles and Hydra symbolises the life of Nic Jonk.
(Left) Zeger Jonk, Nic Jonk's son, who runs the Nic Jonk Museum. (Right) His father's studio, which is now part of the Nic Jonk Museum
After every victory in his life, Nic had to take on a new, almost impossible challenge. He was diagnosed with severe juvenile idiopathic arthritis when he was just 18 years old. Doctors strongly discouraged Nic from becoming a professional sculptor, but he held onto his dream and became one of the most successful Dutch post-war sculptors.
The sculpture garden and the studio / museum
In the beginning, Jonk received some praise from his peers, with famous Dutch artists like Karel Appel, Anton Heyboer and Corneille exhibiting at his gallery and sculpture garden. But when seeking to commercialise his work, the art world looked down on him, and a lot of artist didn’t want to be associated with him. Even though he lost a bit of respect from the art world, this didn’t stop him from fulfilling his dreams.
Karel Appel and Nic Jonk (1979)
A total of about 250 images made by him can be found all over large cities in the Netherlands, and some in Germany, Italy, Spain and the United States as well. In 1965, Nic bought a house for himself, his wife and their children in the Dutch village of Grootschermer with a great bit of land, way above his budget, but with his head full of plans. He built a gallery and a sculpture garden, which his son Zeger has been running ever since Nic Jonk passed away from cancer in 1994.
The sculpture garden in Grootschermer
Now that you know the story behind Nic Jonk's 'Heracles met Hydra', imagine the conversations you could start if this sculpture was in your home. You could share the story of how the sculpture was inspired by Greek mythology, symbolises the artist's life and how it came from a museum to your home through Catawiki.
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The Nic Jonk museum is offering the sculpture ‘Hydra met Heracles’ in this week’s Exclusive Sculpture auction (29 June 2018 - 14 July 2018), along with another of his sculptures: ‘Vrouw staand op één been’ (woman standing on one leg).
Discover more modern art | sculptures | mythology
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