The Zeppelin


The Zeppelin is a 1933 painting by the Dutch painter Carel Willink. It shows a street corner where a group of men look up to the sky and wave to a zeppelin.
The airship is the Graf Zeppelin. The location is the corner of the streets Stadhouderskade and P.C. Hooftstraat in Amsterdam. After the outbreak of World War II the painting was sometimes interpreted as prophetic, as it had been made the same year Adolf Hitler came to power and the zeppelin could be seen as a symbol for Germany. Willink was however unwilling to comment on any such interpretation, instead explaining: "The heart of my work is a deadly love for reality".
The painting is owned by the businessman Hans Melchers. It is on public display at the Museum MORE in Gorssel.
It was the inspiration behind the electronic music track "The Zeppelin" by René van der Wouden, made for the 2011 compilation album Dutch Masters initiated by Synth.nl. After this Wouden produced an entire album themed around zeppelins.