Guestbook

Henk

Henk was a great friend of my aunt, Cleo Sabadine, who went from Australia to Milan via London in the 50's to study singing and further her career in opera. At one stage they were engaged to be married. I remember her telling me that they were extras in a film made in Milan. They had to stroll around The Duomo looking casual.
They kept in t ouch after A Cleo returned to Australia and she visited him when she went back to Milan after she retired. She was amused and slightly distressed that he shared his apartment with his birds and that he'd removed all the doors, including the toilet door!
Henk gave Aunty Cleo some of his paintings. The one she gave me is a glorious vase of flowers. She asked me to have it reframed, which I did. In the process it revealed a message Henk had written to her on the back of the canvas - "May the light of this painting shine through your life". Just a few days after seeing that she sadly died. It was 2003.
I came to Milan a couple of years later and stayed with their other mutual friends, Elda and Silvio Carletti. Elda and I met up with Henk in Milan. He arrived with his old dog and we had a gelato together and he and Elda remembered old times and laughed. It was a wonderful experience for me. I fell very grateful to have met him and I think of him everyday when I look at the painting and the words he wrote.

un caro ricordo

Bemerkenswerter Mann

Vor etwa 30 Jahren hab'ich Henk bei Dario und Vittorio kennengelernt. Schon beim ersten Blick ist er mir als bemerkenswerter Mann aufgefallen, mit dem man gern Gedanken austauscht. Im Laufe der Jahre haben meine Familie und ich ihn immer wieder mit grosser Freude getroffen, denn er war ein sehr guter Mann, offen, aufrichtig und stets hilfsbereit. Wir vermissen ihn; jedes mal dass wir Dario und Vittorio besuchen, warten wir unbewusst drauf, dass er die Treppe runterkommt und mit uns die Freude des Zusammenseins teilt.In seinen Werken taucht das Wesentliche des Wesens hervor, denn er konnte ins Tiefe der Menschen und Tiere blicken.

Henk

hello Henk ! I'm so happy we can keep in virtual contact with you again.
it's like if you were still here with us.
you were and still are a fantastic person..unique..I miss you so much.

expositie

Een mooie site, een prachtige flyer.
Veel succes allemaal in Milaan
Groet Lida (zus Martien)

website Har

Lieve familie van Har,

Wt hebben jullie deze site schitterend gemaakt! Gefeliciteerd. Als Harry dit zou weten....
Heel veel succes strakjes in Italië.
veel groeten van Jacqueline

Website

Dear guest,

Welcome to the website in remembrance of Henk van Genderen.

Please share your stories and anecdotes of Henk with us and leave your reaction on the exposition!

Anecdote

While spending the last part of a summer holiday with me, after having spent some weeks in Indonesia he told me this story.
He was staying in a guest hut on one of the small islands off Sumatra. One morning he woke up and decided, as his morning shower, to take a swim in the sea . When, out at sea, he looked back at the shore he saw a large group of local people gathered on the beach waving to him. What hospital people these are, he thought, to welcome me in such a way. When he had returned to shore he thanked them for their hartwarming welcome at which one of the elder men grinned and said, we were signalling you to come back because the sea is infested with sharks. "Oh!" he said.

harry

as a lifelong friend i am glad that this very interesting man with many facets will be remembered.