This cycle tour past the sculptures of artist Maïté Duval leads you straight through the IJssel Valley. Duval (1944-2019) was a renowned Dutch-French sculptor and draftswoman who lived and worked in the village of Voorst for many years.
About Duval:
The special story of a French artist couple in Gelderland.
‘A painter has settled in a small white farmhouse on the Bolkhofsweg in Voorst: Thierry Rijkhart de Voogd with his young wife Maïté and their eight-month-old son,’ wrote a journalist in September 1968. Thierry was also quoted in the local newspaper: ‘ I like ‘Olland a lot for its practical air, that blue between two showers. I’ve seen a lot of the world, but you won’t find that anywhere other than ‘ier.’
This is how the special story of Thierry and Maïté in Gelderland began. They were 24 years old when they arrived here. Both born near the Normandy port city of Rouen, they met in 1966 in a café on Rue Martainville, not far from the famous cathedral so beautifully immortalized by Claude Monet. Not far from the art academy, where Thierry learned the painting trade. Maïté studied literature in Rouen.
They started a new life in Voorst. Thierry fled his Dutch parents and therefore spoke the little Dutch that was so cheerfully parodied by that Gelderland journalist. He supported their livelihood in the first years by working for a Citroën garage. Maïté, a dark bohemian Frenchwoman who did not speak a word of Dutch, attracted quite a crowd in the village when she went shopping with her children. The village nurse, the general practitioner, the councilor, the municipal official: everyone came to the aid of the young French family, with clothes, with furniture… and with the first art commissions. The house that Thierry and Maïte had built in 1975 on the Kervelstraat in Voorst was named Big Sur – a reference to the American town of Big Sur, where their favorite writer Arthur Miller was equally lovingly welcomed.
They had their best years in Big Sur. Thierry and Maïté raised their three children there. Thierry had his large studio at the front and painted his beautiful IJssel landscapes there. Maïté, self-taught, discovered sculpture there. One of her first sculptures, Standing Naked , was literally created in their bedroom; the large bed was pushed aside to make room for the enormous barrels full of modeling clay. Art lovers, galleries and museums quickly discovered their talent: Museum Henriette Polak (Zutphen), Singer Museum (Laren), Galerie Ornis (The Hague), M. Sothmann (Amsterdam) and so on. Thierry’s paintings: distinctly poetic, refined, dreamy… Maïté’s sculptures: powerful, feminine, full of zest for life.
Thierry and Maïté moved to the Deventerweg in Zutphen in 1987. Thierry died there in 1999. Ten years later, Maïté organized, in collaboration with the Musea Zutphen, a retrospective exhibition in honor of her Grand Amour under the title ‘The greatest in the smallest things.’ Maïté passed away in 2019. Many of their special works of art can be seen in Museums in Zutphen – and on the road. Don’t forget to get off your bike and enjoy this beautiful sculpture route.
Knowing more?
Also take a look at the official Duval website.
Also check out Theo Van Berkel’s website with a description and photos of part of the Duval collection.
- Category:
- Cycling
- Cycling route
