basaltimagery

Who says I'm not under the protection of God Paul Beumer 2009

At first this work looked like a Pollockesque storm of paint. Approaching it I found it to be a mixed media piece, with cutout pictures and deliberate spools of paint mimicking the images underneath. I found it oddly interesting.

With its size it offers a lot of layers to explore, though its meaning eludes me.

Schrijnende danseres met tamboerijn Fioen Blaisse 1979

I like the very organic and dynamic feel of this statue. It's also interesting how the colours are made, as the stone is black when polished smooth while approaching white when roughly engraved, an effect that is very deliberately used.

The shape looks human, though it's ultimately a bit ambiguous.

Parlement Daniël Verkerk 1994

I always find it fascinating how much one can leave out and still create a figurative piece.

Nautilus cup 1621 Cornelis Jansz. van Weerdenborch

This is a wonderful example from the 17th century where an already valuable object (the exotic shell) is "upgraded" with metalwork. The chosen ornamentations are delightfully weird.

At the top stands a rather sassy Poseidon. He stands on some kind of seamonster. The shell is carried by a mermaid, but instead of one firm tail (as in modern depictions), she has two floppy looking ones extending from her thighs. At the bottom is a shell with a grotesque head sticking out of it, and it also has four legs like some sort of crustacean.

Poseidon's realm truly is a marvelous place.

St Anthony's Chapel in St John's Church 1645 Pieter Saenredam

Paintings of interiors are always a favourite of mine, as they represent a painting the best as a portal into a different space and time. Even so, this one managed to draw me in particularly well.

One part is due how it was presented, as it has a solid black frame, hanging from a black wall. The image is left to glow in isolation, amplifying the sucking effect of the dramatic perspective.

The scene itself is rather simple. Three people are kneeling in prayer, while in the right corner someone is just leaving. But with this simplicity it's possible to grasp the full image.

Damesportret c. 1900-1910 Isaac Israëls

As I'm crossing off items on my list of local museums that I haven't seen yet, it seems that every art museum in the Netherlands has a work of Israëls. That isn't a complaint, with each work I encounter I'm appreciating his style more.

Israëls has a gift to paint with extremely coarse brushstrokes where each do a lot of work in the painting. The lady's face for example isn't finely rendered at all, yet each stroke is in the right place, and she glows with character. Her clothing is even more coarse with parts of the ground layer showing through, yet the illusion of the image holds beautifully.

Stilleven met eieren 1935 Dick Ket

This work displays beautifully why the still live is the precursor to abstract art. Judging the work just by the objects it represents literal trash. Yet, the shapes, colours, and textures together make a beautiful composition.

Especially the rendering of the paper is wonderfully done. The text is devoid of meaning as it transforms into just another interesting shape. The smooth eggshells offer variety in the sea of sharp angles.

Trostomaten 2005 Ina van Zyl

While the subject of this work may be mundane, it is drawn into the unfamiliar by its size and odd cropping.

The plastic is rendered in a naturalistic manner. It’s easy to envision the material; the rustling sound, the smooth surface. It’s very different from the actual painting that is rather coarse, almost flaky. It has an uncanny quality to it.

Waterval in Noorwegen 1871 Alexander Wüst

Contained on a small canvas is the power of nature. A waterfall rushes on, surrounded by a desolate landscape with a dead tree. Two birds flying by are the only signs of life, following the roiling stream out of the frame.

Oannès c. 1900 – 1910 Odilon Redon

Redon is one of my favourite painters. His fantastical subjects perfectly match the dreamlike quality of his painting style.

The suspended head represents a sea god. On the bottom, odd creatures go about their day. The whole scene offers no clear sense of space or scale, existing in its own dreamlike reality where it is easy to get lost in. No other artist can evoke such an impression of witnessing magic for me.

Vissersvrouw 1883 Vincent van Gogh

This early work of van Gogh was mainly meant as a study for painting figures. The head was not important for this purpose and has remained a disc in a single colour.

It’s interesting how much such a thing can alter the look. Because of the “face”, the static pose, and the bright red cape it made me think about Malevich’s figures.

I also like how with simple means a foreboding sea is represented. Together with the figure the scene made me very curious.

Green Room / Vault 2016 Marien Schouten

Walking through the park surrounding the museum, this work hidden in the forest pulled me in immediately. The frame is huge and imposing, the plastic sheet housed within is slightly opaque with a very unnatural colour. Standing before it, it feels like an unworldly portal, a vague vision of a different reality shimmering through.

The accompanying piece is odd in a very different way. The organically shaped earthenware sculpture is mostly symmetrical, like some kind of creature. The rain earlier that day had filled the dimples on the top with water, with conifer leaves drifting on the surface. It felt strange yet grounded.