Woodhackers
1927
            
                Oil on canvas. 
              60 x 72.5 cm
              Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid
              
                Inv. no.  
              642
 (1979.82
)
              
                                  
                    Not exhibited
                  
                  
                    
                    
                      
                        
    
        
        
      
        
                                
          
              
    
      
        
      
    
        
      
    
        
  
          
        
      
        
                                
          
              
    
      
        
      
    
        
      
    
        
  
          
        
      
        
                                
          
              
    
      
        
      
    
        
      
    
        
  
          
        
      
        
                                
          
              
    
      
        
      
    
        
      
    
        
  
          
        
          
  
                      
                    
                  
                              
            
        Level 2
      
      
        Permanent Collection
      
    
        Level 1
      
      
        Permanent Collection
      
    
        Level 0
      
      
        Carmen Thyssen Collection and Temporary exhibition rooms
      
    
        Level -1
      
      
        Temporary exhibition rooms, Conference room and EducaThyssen workshop
      
    For a time Bart van der Leck adhered to the rigid geometric guidelines of De Stijl, but gradually began to attach greater importance to the figurative elements of his compositions. The present oil painting belonging to the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, which Christopher Green considers to be a sketch for a larger work, clearly illustrates the balance between abstraction and figuration that characterises most of his output. 
The painting’s first owner, Hendricus Petrus Bremmer (1871–1956), was a major collector and foremost critic in the Netherlands, who later became Helene Kröller-Müller’s chief advisor. The correspondence between Van der Leck and his patron attests to the latter’s influence on the artist.
Paloma Alarcó
                  The painting’s first owner, Hendricus Petrus Bremmer (1871–1956), was a major collector and foremost critic in the Netherlands, who later became Helene Kröller-Müller’s chief advisor. The correspondence between Van der Leck and his patron attests to the latter’s influence on the artist.
Paloma Alarcó
 
                       
                       
                       
                       
        
       
        
       
        
       
        
      