People around Philippe Smit
Jan Zondag (1891–1982)
The paths of Philippe Smit (1886–1948) and the Dutch painter Jan Zondag would probably have crossed in Hilversum in the early 1910s. A chance encounter in an antiques shop, where both men were searching for Japanese prints, marked the beginning of a close and enduring friendship.
Their relationship is known primarily through the biographical research of Anne Foest in Jan Zondag: een leven geschilderd1, supplemented by private archives2 and family recollections3.
During their early years, Smit lived in considerable poverty. Convinced of his talent, Zondag provided him with both practical and financial support. Sharing a deep admiration for Vincent van Gogh, the two artists rented a farmhouse in Hollandsche Rading, near Hilversum, where they painted together.
Their friendship continued in France during the 1920s. Philippe Smit regularly welcomed his friend and, later, the Zondag family. Zondag also appears to have introduced Smit to the sculptor Noël Tinayre4, who thereafter, like Zondag himself, became part of the circle surrounding Smit, Urban and Pitcairn.
While Philippe Smit officially joined the Swedenborgian community in 1926, Jan Zondag chose a markedly different path. Wishing to preserve his artistic independence and preferring a simple way of life, he declined to join despite the prospect of financial security.
The depth of their friendship is still reflected in family memories passed down by Jan Zondag’s daughter and recorded by her grandson in 20155. She described Philippe Smit as a more outgoing personality than her father. These recollections also testify to the enduring bonds formed during those years, as demonstrated by visits made after the Second World War (1946–1947) to the art collection of Nicolaas Urban6, where works by Jan Zondag were displayed alongside those of Philippe Smit.
1. Anne Foest, Jan Zondag: een leven geschilderd [Kortenhoef, 1999], Blaricum, 1999, pp. 14, 20–21 and 24–25.
2. Private archives, the Netherlands and Paris.
3. Correspondence between Mr Rembrandt Zegers, great-grandson of Zondag, and Mrs Vrouwke Urban, email dated 25 August 2015 (private archives, Paris).
4. See Inspirations: Poets and Composers, footnote 16.
5. See footnote 3
6. See the biographical note on Nicolaas Urban.
Jan Zondag and Petronella Barbara (Nellie) Wassenaar at Montfort l'Amaury, Yvelines (courtesy of Mr. Rembrandt Zegers)
Portrait of a Seated Woman (Tante Mau), brush and black ink on paper, signed and dated Jan Zondag 18, 62 x 50 cm, formerly in the Nicolaas Urban Collection; private collection, France.