herman de vries catalogue raisonné

sketchbook V - ruwen hennip - 'de dood'

catalogue number:	1968.014.5a-v
date created:	1968
classification:	works on paper
work type:	sketchbook
medium:	21 drawings with at random selection of starting points, size, colour, etc., rub-off letters, black ink and coloured pencil on paper and bound in sketchbook with cardboard covers and metal spiral binding see also 'extended description'
dimensions:	24 × 32 cm (motif size 24 × 24 cm) [v68-178a and b 24 × 30 cm]
signature and inscriptions:	titled 'IV 'de dood' - ruwen hennip -' on the cover (black and red ink) dedication 'geschenk aan susanne, I-VI, sept. '71 herman de vries'/ 'susanne jacob [de vries]' and number 'T924-X-1983' on the reverse of the cover (biro and pencil) each sheet numbered 'I -XXI' and mostly annotated on the front (graphite pencil) all drawings titled 'a.r. [= at random]', signed and dated/work number on the reverse (graphite pencil), except v68-178a-b (not titled nor signed) and sheet number XXI is uninscribed
edition:

current repository:	collection Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, Stuttgart
current repository number:	DKM Gr. 1011, 5
collecting history:	acquired directly from the artist
related works:
comment:	the sheets numbered IV (v68-181) and VII (v68-184) - XVI (v68-193) are also numbered 35-44 in circles on the front; the number refers to the page in the collection random objectivations (1972)
photo/scan:	courtesy Staatsgalerie Stuttgart
rights & reproduction:	herman de vries/Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, Stuttgart

extended description

I. [v68-178a] circles and text ('die forderung der möglichkeit der einfachen zeichen ist die forderung der bestimmtheit des sinnes' [source: L. Wittgenstein, Tractatus logico-philosophicus 3.23.); the letters are translated to circles; black ink, rub-off letters with graphite pencil on paper

II. [v68-178b] circles; black ink with graphite pencil on paper

III. [v68-180] based on the same points as v68-177 but here connected from the left bottom corner; this is achieved by shifting an imaginary line between the axes and connect the first next point inside the field (if there is more than one point, first the closest point) [one mistake: the point in the right bottom corner (note herman de vries)]; black ink with graphite pencil on paper

IV. [v68-181] 2 squares (selected from a range 1-24 → 1 × 1 and 4 × 4 cm) distributed with random selected place and size; black ink with graphite pencil on paper

V. [v68-182] [program as v68-181] 2 squares (selected from a range 1-24 → 3 × 3 and 5 × 5 cm) distributed with random selected place and size; black ink with graphite pencil on paper

VI. [v68-183] [program as v68-181] 2 squares (selected from a range 1-24 → 4 × 4 and 8 × 8 cm) distributed with random selected place and size; black ink with graphite pencil on paper

VII. [v68-184] [program as v68-181] 2 rectangles (selected from a range 1-24) distributed with random selected place and size; black ink with graphite pencil on paper

VIII. [v68-185] [program as v68-184] 2 rectangles (selected from a range 1-24) distributed with random selected place and size; black ink with graphite pencil on paper

IX. [v68-186] [program as v68-184] two rectangles (selected from a range 1-24) distributed with random selected place and size; black ink with graphite pencil on paper

X. [v68-187] [program as v68-180 but without mistake - notes herman de vries 1968] based on the same points as v68-177 but here connected from the left bottom corner; this is achieved by shifting an imaginary line between the axes and connect the first next point within the field (if there is more than one point, first the closest point); black ink with graphite pencil on paper

XI. [v68-188] [program as v68-187 but starting from the top left corner] based on the same points as v68-177 but here connected from the top left corner; this is achieved by shifting an imaginary line between the axes and connect the first next point within the field (if there is more than one point, first the closest point); black ink with graphite pencil on paper

XII. [v68-189] [program as v68-187 but starting from the left side] based on the same points as v68-177 but here connected from the left side; this is achieved by shifting an imaginary line between the axes and connect the first next point within the field (if there is more than one point, first the closest point); black ink with graphite pencil on paper

XIII. [v68-190] [program as v68-187 but starting from the bottom side] based on the same points as v68-177 but here connected from the bottom side; this is achieved by shifting an imaginary line between the axes and connect the first next point within the field (if there is more than one point, first the closest point); black ink with graphite pencil on paper

XIV. [v68-191] 15 lines connecting randomly selected points on randomly selected sides; the resulting fields adjacent to the sides are shaded; black ink with graphite pencil on paper

XV. [v68-192] 15 lines connecting randomly selected points on randomly selected sides; the resulting fields not adjacent to the sides are shaded [program as v68-191 but different shading]; black ink with graphite pencil on paper

XVI. [v68-193] squares are drawn in horizontal direction with randomly selected size (1-23 → 1-14); the open spaces on the sides are filled in with small squares; black ink with graphite pencil on paper

XVII. [v68-194] 3 areas (A-C) are made in vertical direction (A = 10 cm, C = 4 cm and C = 4 cm); A is at random red + brown, C is light and dark green and the length of the lines (at a distance of 0.5 cm to each other) at random 5-10 cm, B is in 9 colours and the length of the line is 4 cm; in horizontal direction more or less the same with different length and colours; coloured ink with graphite pencil on paper

XVIII. [v68-195] squares with randomly selected size (1-22 cm) starting from the left bottom corner; the next square is distributed on a random selected place and side; the work is finished when an other side is reached; black ink with graphite pencil on paper

XIX. [v68-196] [program as v68-195] squares with randomly selected size (1-22 cm) starting from the left bottom corner; the next square is distributed on a random selected place and side; the work is finished when an other side is reached; black ink with graphite pencil on paper

XX. [v68-197] [program as v68-195] squares with randomly selected size (1-22 cm) starting from the left bottom corner; the next square is distributed on a random selected place and side; the work is finished when an other side is reached; black ink with graphite pencil on paper

XXI. [no work number] [program as v68-195] squares with randomly selected size (1-22 cm) starting from the left bottom corner; the next square is distributed on a random selected place and side; the work is finished when an other side is reached; black ink with graphite pencil on paper

exhibition history

2025	'herman de vries. 70 jaar natuur als kunstwerk', Rijksmuseum Twenthe, Enschede [v68-194]

published references

collected works	herman de vries. random objectivations. collection autori, 1 (edizioni amodulo : villanuova sul clisi 1972) image repr. on fol. 35-44.
exhibition catalogue	all this here. herman de vries pioneer between science, nature and art / Cees de Boer (Rijksmuseum Twenthe : Enschede / Jap Sam Books : Prinsenbeek 2025) image repr. on page 76 [v68-194] (colour ill. number 40), 144.