Caland monument (1907) Henri Evers & Arend Odé

photo Otto Snoek
About the artwork

The Caland monument is dedicated to the water management engineer Pieter Caland (1826 - 1902), the inventor of the Nieuwe Waterweg. The construction of this water street allowed the port of Rotterdam to grow strongly at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. The architectural design for the monument was made by the master builder of the Rotterdam town hall, Henri Evers. He in turn engaged the Delft professor AWM Odé for the sculpture. The monument was completed in 1907 and was given a central location on the Coolsingel until it had to be moved to the more remote Veerkade in 1939 for technical reasons. In retrospect, that was probably a happy decision, because chances are it will Caland monument otherwise the bombing of 1940 would not have survived. The basis of it Caland monument serves as an overflow basin for a number of water basins. Bronze lion heads hang above these three basins, which spit the basins full. At the front, a bow-shaped water basin is populated by two naked figures. Various inscriptions have been made in stone plaques. The one on the west side reads: 'The Council of Water Management. Set up to assess the plans to improve Rotterdam's seaways, prefers Caland's design, based on the effect of ebb and flow. Accordingly, the law of January 24, 1863 orders the excavation of the Hook of Holland and the damming of the rift.' A plaque on the east side shows an overview map of the region with the intended design of the Waterway. On top of the stone obelisk is a winged female figure, the genius of Rotterdam. It Caland monument together with it GJ de Jongh monument, Sculpture monument en Square island in the lake a collection of water management works in Rotterdam.

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About Henri Evers

Henri Evers (Ellecom, 1855 - Wassenaar, 1929) was a Dutch architect. After his studies in The Hague and Antwerp, he worked in Brussels, Vienna and Budapest. In 1885 he returned to the Netherlands and settled as an architect in Amsterdam. In 1887 Evers became head of the Architecture Department of the Academy of Visual Arts in Rotterdam and from 1902 to 1926 he was professor at the TU in Delft. In his architecture we see ideas of Berlage and Jugendstil characteristics. The Rotterdam City Hall was designed by Evers and built between 1914 and 1920.

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About Arend Odé

Sculptor Arend Willem Maurits Odé was professor of modeling and sculpture in Delft. As a sculptor, he gained his reputation through his various decorations at the Peace Palace in The Hague (facade), the City Hall in Rotterdam and various monuments such as the Regentess monument in The Hague. Odé was a knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion and an officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau.

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