NOW IN LA PETITE ESPINETTE:
The Mondrian initiative.
The Dooyewaard Foundation manages five historical studios in the village of Blaricum, among which the Historical studios in de Colony with a.o. “Mondrian’s Hut” acquired in 2008 and fully restored in 2015. The original wooden studios have been placed on modern basements with spectacular working light. The designer is Menno Ongering, a local architect. The studios of the Colony obtained monument status in 2023. These are assigned as living and working places to talented artists. The selection is being made by independent committees. Look at the restauration process in this post: restauratiefilmpje.
Read more about the history of Colonies and Huts in Mauve country.
HISTORICAL BACKROUND
The first studio purchase by (the original owner) Theo Lohmann in 1922 concerned a wooden hut with a tiled roof – named ‘espinette’ in Belgian. Up to this day this studio is named ‘La Petite Espinette’. This property was originally constructed in 1907 by Blaricum carpenter Kok as annex on the grounds of a Torenlaan house. It was taken apart, moved to the Schapendrift and reconstructed there. In describing Lohmann’s 75th birthday celebrations in 1955 the local newspaper, de Bel, reports: ‘Mother Lohmann, who had come along to have a good look before the actual purchase, had an excellent memory. She remembered it exactly and was in charge of rebuilding.’ When daughter Vera Gerson Lohman and her husband Ernst had to raise their four children they attached La Petite Espinette to the Mondriaan Studio and enlarged the structure with a stone extension with bedrooms and bathroom in 1948.