Otto van Rees - Portrait of Guusje van Dongen
Otto van Rees (1884-1957)
Portrait of Guusje van Dongen
Signed and annotated lower right “Madame v. Dongen”
1929
Chalk and pencil on paper
34 x 38 cm
Condition:
In very good condition, with minimal signs of age.
Exhibitions:
Hoensbroek, Galerie De Sloof, Otto van Rees, 23 January – 21 February 1965, cat. no. 27.
The Hague, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, Otto en Adya van Rees, 12 July – 24 August 1975.
Utrecht, Galerie Quintessens, Otto van Rees (1884–1957): paintings, drawings, 27 February – 31 March 1990.
Laren, Singer Museum, Otto van Rees. 1884–1957: Verkenner van het modernisme, 31 January – 27 April 2003.
Valkenswaard, Nederlands Steendrukmuseum, Kees van Dongen. De jonge jaren, 8 November 2025 – 3 May 2026.
Literature:
Exhibition catalogue, Otto van Rees en Ayda van Rees (Centraal Museum Utrecht/Gemeentemuseum Den Haag), 1975, p. 107.
L. Grijns, E. van Faassen, J. de Raad, S. van Faassen & I. Lesparre, Otto van Rees, Zwolle (Waanders) 2005, p. 33, no. 369.
Rachelle van den Broek, Kees van Dongen. De jonge jaren (Nederlands Steendruk Museum) 2025, p. 54 no. 39.
Provenance:
Collection Kuitenbrouwer-van Rees, family of the artist;
Private collection Rob van Vuure, 2016.
Additional information:
In this atmospheric portrait Otto van Rees depicts Juliana Augusta Preitlinger (Guus) van Dongen (1878-1946), the first wife of Kees van Dongen. In soft, rhythmic lines and nuanced colour, he captures her. Her averted gaze and restrained body language suggest a moment of introspection, giving the portrait a quiet psychological depth.
The colour scheme is balanced and purposeful: ochre yellow, blue and reddish brown accentuate the face, hair and clothing while also creating a certain tension between form and plane. The background is barely elaborated, directing attention entirely to the model’s expression and pose. The result is a restrained yet modern portrait, characteristic of Van Rees’s Paris period, when he moved between Expressionism and a personal form of Cubism.