Exhibit of Volendam photos, artifacts is 'real Dutch treat'

Exhibit of Volendam photos, artifacts is 'real Dutch treat'
Although largely ignored by the Dutch, Volendam was a magnet for foriegn tourists during the height of Holland mania. Yet the little fishing village with houses and distinctive clothing came to symbolize a whole country. "Our stereotypes of the Netherlands (come from) this little village," said Joel Lefever, interim president of the Holland Historical Trust.

The credit for turning Volendam into the fishing village known around the world goes to a hotel owner who shrewdly marketed the village as an artist colony. He even offered rooms with artist studios. "Americans loved that little village," Lefever said, adding that locals preferred getting paid to pose for paintings than the more labor-intensive fishing.
American interest peaked in the last decade of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century.

An example of this fascination was painter John Rettig's passion for Volendam. He and his wife, May, natives of Cincinnati, spent the summer months in the quaint Dutch fishing village, capturing the quickly disappearing traditional lifestyle. They were part of a second generation of artists who discovered Volendam. Two decades earlier, a group of Cincinnati artists had descended on the village. In addition to his talent as an artist, Rettig knew how to successfully promote his own art, said Nella Kennedy, the exhibit's curator.

The consummate collector, Rettig brought back so many artifacts and traditional outfits from the Netherlands that he was able to set up the complete interior of a Volendam fisherman's cottage in his Cincinnati studio and use the costumes on his models. The hundreds of photographs he had taken became the basis for many of his paintings. After his death, his studio, the "Volendam Room," and his collection of Dutch artifacts and photographs was acquired by the Netherlands Museum, now the Holland Museum. The collection was purchased for the museum by the Chamber of Commerce in 1944 in hopes of creating a Dutch attraction that would dovetail with the city's Tulip Time festival. Rettig's widow did not mind waiting the four years it took the chamber to raise her $2,500 asking price. "She wanted to keep it together and didn't want to see it sold piece by piece," Lefever said.
The "Volendam Room" in the Holland Museum was Michigan's most authentic Dutch attraction before the arrival of the De Zwaan windmill in 1965.

The room features crucifixes and other Catholic images, reflecting the religion both of the village and Rettig. However, Rettig's photography collection never has been displayed for the public in Holland, until now. The museum's exhibit, "Greetings from Volendam," showcases more than 70 of Rettig's photographs, six small paintings, 20 artifacts from his studio and three complete Volendam costumes.

The exhibit presents an intimate look at Dutch fishing village life a century ago. The images capture scenes of daily life, such as washday in the village, a mother holding her child, men smoking their pipes or girls knitting. A few of the photographs are shown together with the paintings for which they served as studies. The costumes and artifacts also can be seen in Rettig's photographs and paintings. The exhibit is intended to serve as a "real Dutch treat" during Holland's Tulip Time.