Reading Penguin (Lezende pinguïn)

About this artwork.

Reading Penguin is one of the many commissions Klaas van Dijk completed for public and private organisations. Van Dijk created this cement penguin for the front of the schoolyard of the public primary school H. Nienhuis. The animal's posture has been faithfully reproduced, but its wings are more like hands holding a book. The reading penguin exudes an eagerness to learn. In 2013 the piece was moved into the new Boerhaaveschool building.
 
The artist, Klaas van Dijk, was trained by the well-known Groningen sculptor Willem Valk. In the 1920s and 1930s, he was a member of the Groningen artists' association De Ploeg. Although the Netherlands was his home base, he also worked in France and the United States. In 1977, he received the cultural Egberts Prize in Groningen, for his services to De Ploeg, among other things. Van Dijk worked tirelessly to ensure that young artists would join this association.

Facts & Figures.

• Design
  Klaas van Dijk

• District
  Corpus den Hoorn, Hoornse Meer, Piccardthof

• Year of creation
  1963

• Art type
  Freestanding sculpture

• Material
  Cement

• Dimensions
  h 1,10 m