The load carrier (1950) Han Rehm

photo Otto Snoek
About the artwork

The load carrier was unveiled on September 2, 1950 by Mayor Pieter Oud. The statue was located on the facade of the rebuilt warehouse 'De Eersteeling' on the Rijnhaven of Pakhuismeesteren (which was later taken over by Steinweg). It was a symbol for the completion of the reconstruction of the refueling installation at the Eerste Petroleumhaven, the completion of the warehouses Celebes, Borneo and Sumatra at the Wilhelminakade and the renovation of 'De Eersteeling' - all owned by the Pakhuismeesteren company. A poem was chiselled on the plinth, written by the oldest partner HGJ de Monchy:

"What was meaninglessly destroyed
by the cowardly violence,
Is up to deez 'last stone,
restored with god's help. "

As part of the Kop van Zuid renovation project, 'De Eersteeling' was demolished. The load carrier by artist Han Rehm, however, was spared and took place on the Waalhaven ZZ industrial estate next to the Steinweg entrance on Parmentierplein. Several initiatives have called for a return of The load carrier to its old surroundings and on November 13, 2014, the statue of this dock worker with a heavy burden on his shoulders was placed back on the Wilhelminapier and unveiled by Mayor Aboutaleb. It concerns a replica, which was donated by Steinweg to the Municipality of Rotterdam. The Steinweg logo, which is known worldwide, is an illustration of this load carrier.

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About the artist

Artist Han Rehm (Rotterdam, 1908 - Rotterdam, 1970) studied art at the Reading University in England and subsequently studied drawing at the Rotterdam art academy for a short period. Afterwards he studied sculpture at the National Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. In 1930 he also went to study sculpture in Vienna. In 1935 he settled in his own studio in Kralingen. In addition to being a sculptor, he was active as a medalist. Among other things, he made a medal for Leiden University (1958). Han Rehm is best known in Rotterdam for his work The load carrier on the Kop van Zuid and the statue of the Olympic athlete Fanny Blankers-Koen in Blijdorp.

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