“Denneappels met schaamhaar” they call them. Do you see the Fete galante sculpture? Those aren’t just ordinary pinecones.
The Fete galante sculpture is a quirky Amsterdam artwork. It stands proudly at the corner of Weesperstraat and Nieuwe Kerkstraat. Hans van den Ban created it in 1997. It’s made of concrete. It’s meant to be playful. The artist wanted to counter the serious feel of the newly built buildings in the area. The original plan was to plant a row of trees. That never happened.
The Fete galante is actually four large concrete cones. They’re about 7.5 meters high and 1.3 meters wide. They resemble oversized pinecones. Each cone has a metal ring at the top. They’re connected by a metal rod. Three cones have glass fiber protrusions. These sway in the wind. The artist wanted to show the relationship between time and nature. The cones look like cuckoo clock weights. This refers to the passing of time. The falling pinecones show nature’s decay.
But the whimsical protrusions gave the sculpture its nickname. “Denneappels met schaamhaar” means “pinecones with pubic hair” in Dutch. It’s a funny contrast to the formal setting. The name Fete galante itself is a reference to 18th-century paintings. These paintings showed elegant parties. They emphasized pleasure and love. The sculpture is a subtle celebration of life’s fleeting moments. A mix of the formal and the informal. A testament to the artist’s unique vision. It’s a quirky surprise in a busy Amsterdam neighborhood. Isn’t it wonderful?