About the artwork
Nicolaas Johannes Jacobus Morelis (Rotterdam 1913 – Rotterdam, 1977) was a well-known Rotterdam street figure and impersonator. His nickname was Charly the Sandwichman. In the 1960s and 1970s, he walked through the city centre as a living advertising doll and imitated Stan Laurel and Charlie Chaplin. Charly advertised for local businesses and wore signs on his chest and back, for which he designed the texts himself. He was a resident of the Oude Noorden and lived on the Snellemanstraat. Artist Robbert Jan F. Donker became fascinated by Charly as a child. When he was asked to design a work of art for the square on the Snellemanstraat, he designed a statue for Charly. The memorial consists of a travertine stone column with a bronze bowler hat, walking stick, shoes and a draped pawn jacket. A bronze plate is attached to the column with the text: “Charly a famous Old Northerner”. Donker chose to depict the attributes and not the person Charly. Morelis' daughter performed the unveiling of the statue.
About the artist
Robbert Jan Donker (Amsterdam, 1943 - Rotterdam, 2016) studied at the Academy of Visual Arts in Rotterdam from 1960 to 1965. These years turned him into a 'native Rotterdammer' with a great fondness for the Kralingen district. The work of sculptor Donker is characterized by the creation of human figures, reliefs and especially animal figures in bronze and stone.
About the artwork
Nicolaas Johannes Jacobus Morelis (Rotterdam 1913 – Rotterdam, 1977) was a well-known Rotterdam street figure and impersonator. His nickname was Charly the Sandwichman. In the 1960s and 1970s, he walked through the city centre as a living advertising doll and imitated Stan Laurel and Charlie Chaplin. Charly advertised for local businesses and wore signs on his chest and back, for which he designed the texts himself. He was a resident of the Oude Noorden and lived on the Snellemanstraat. Artist Robbert Jan F. Donker became fascinated by Charly as a child. When he was asked to design a work of art for the square on the Snellemanstraat, he designed a statue for Charly. The memorial consists of a travertine stone column with a bronze bowler hat, walking stick, shoes and a draped pawn jacket. A bronze plate is attached to the column with the text: “Charly a famous Old Northerner”. Donker chose to depict the attributes and not the person Charly. Morelis' daughter performed the unveiling of the statue.
About the artist
Robbert Jan Donker (Amsterdam, 1943 - Rotterdam, 2016) studied at the Academy of Visual Arts in Rotterdam from 1960 to 1965. These years turned him into a 'native Rotterdammer' with a great fondness for the Kralingen district. The work of sculptor Donker is characterized by the creation of human figures, reliefs and especially animal figures in bronze and stone.
