Leendert Bolle (1879-1942)

In the 1950s, Rotterdam artist Leendert Bolle (1879-1942) was considered one of the best Dutch sculptors. Art critic Abraham Hammacher described Leendert Bolle as an ‘extraordinarily concentrated artist’. He admired his balustrade of the GJ de Jongh monument in the garden of the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen as an absolute highlight of sculpture in the interbellum. Yet Bolle’s work fell into oblivion. To date, no overview of his extensive oeuvre has been published. Undeservedly so, because Bolle’s working method was innovative and he experimented a lot with his use of materials. Bolle’s influence can also be seen in the work of artist and best friend Henk Chabot.

The Chabot Museum Rotterdam is now presenting a solo exhibition of this innovative artist. With sculptures, sketches, plaster models and medals, the exhibition sheds new light on artist Leendert Bolle. The exhibition also focuses on the many traces that Bolle left behind in Rotterdam. Everyone is familiar with the stylised animal sculptures that he placed on slender columns at the entrance to Blijdorp Zoo in 1938, but many will have been unaware that Bolle added so much value to the city where he lived and worked.