investigation, instituted by the Zuider Zee Society in 1886, gave rise to a scheme put forward in 1891, the execution of which, in a modified form, was begun in 1920.
The requisite bill was introduced in 1913 and was passed almost unanimously by both Chambers of the States-General in 1918. There may perhaps be some cause for wonder that a decision of such import should have been made during war- time. The explanation is that it was just the circumstances of those days, with the shortage of food occasioned by them, which brought into prominence the importance of extending the area of arable land. Moreover, people had still fresh in their memories the severe storm of 1916, which, bursting the Zuider Zee dykes, deluged vast districts of the country.
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FIG. 1.
The main features of the scheme are indicated in fig. I. They consist of (.4) the closure and (B) the drainage. The closure is like- wise divisible into two parts, namely, from North Holland to the Isle of Wieringen and from that island to Friesland. The combined length of the enclosing dams or barrages is nearly 19 miles. With the completion of the dams 850,000 ac. of the Zuider Zee will be shut off from the North Sea, thus creating a large lake. The dams will afford full protection to the coasts of the provinces bordering on the Zuider Zee for a distance of 152 miles. In the dam sluices will be required to carry off the surplus of water from the enclosed Zuider Zee, and the quantity may at times be very great, since it will include the afflux of the Yssel, an arm of the Rhine. It is there- fore deemed necessary to have no fewer than 30 sluices, 33 ft. wide and 13-2 ft. deep. As soon as the closure is complete various parts of the Zuider Zee can be successively dammed and drained. Four inner enclosures (B) are contemplated, corresponding to the char- acter of the sea-bottom and other factors.
After deducting the dimensions of dykes, canals, and roads the enclosures will provide 500,000 ac. of land, an area equivalent to that of the cultivated districts of North Holland or of Groningen with a surface analogous in composition to the best clay soil to be found in the country. The remainder of the Zuider Zee bottom con- sists chiefly of sand, and will, consequently, not be reclaimed. The water covering this area is shown in the sketch under the name of Ysselmeer. Its size is about 580 sq. m., which is thrice that of the lakes of Geneva or of Constance. It will constitute a receptacle for the waters of the Yssel and some smaller rivers, and will dis- charge them through the sluices into the open-sea during ebb tide. As a reservoir of fresh water this Ysselmeer will be able to supply the canals of the surrounding provinces in periods of drought.
The Zuider Zee project has thus a double purpose: in the first place the reclamation from the sea of new fertile provinces; secondly, the security from the encroachments of the sea and the supply of fresh water to the neighbouring provinces. In the initial stages of the work heavy clay was dredged out of the open sea and deposited along the track to be followed by the dam. The cost of the under- taking was calculated in 1914 at about 19,000,000, but it seemed likely in 1921 to be very much more. Ten years were allowed for the construction of the main dam and another 20 years for the completion of the four inner enclosures.
See Flevo, monthly periodical devoted to the Zuider Zee recla- mation scheme; Maandberichten betrejfende de Zuyderzeewerkens (monthly). (C. LY.)
ZULOAGA, IGNACIO (1870- ), Spanish painter (see 28.1049), had become by 1921 the head of a definite school of Basque and Castilian painters, whose work was marked by a realistic and decorative treatment of contemporary Spanish life, consciously based on Velazquez, El Greco and Goya. His art showed increasing emphasis on silhouette, simplification of form and use of broad masses of sombre colour relieved by splashes of more vivid tints. In his figure compositions a low
horizon and a panoramic background were favourite devices
for obtaining a decorative monumental effect. Women and
the nude figure played an important part in Zuloaga's work. In his portraits, of which typical examples are " Lucienne Breval in Carmen," " Cousin Candida," " The Duke of Alba," and "Countess Mathieu de Noailles," emphasis is on the type rather than the individual, and the combination of realism and simplification tends towards caricature. This also appears in his genre paintings of Spanish types, peasants, dancers, bullfighters, priests and beggars, such as " Old Castile," " The Bottleseller " and " The Witches of San Millan." His landscapes, mainly painted round Burgos, Salamanca and Segovia, have a similar bizarre, fantastic quality. His later work includes " My Uncle Daniel and his Family " (1912), " A Cardinal" (1914), "Toreadors" (1914), " Un Versolari " (1916). An important retrospective exhibition of his work was seen at the 1919 International Exhibition at Bilbao, and he was represented by three portraits in the 1920-1 Exhibition of Spanish Paintings at Burlington House.
See also: L. Benedite, Ignacio Zuloaga (1912); Juan de la Encina, El Arle de Ignacio Zuloaga (1916).
