Jan Grotenbreg

''Black Horse'' Dutch Contemporary Fresco Painting with a Black Horse

2018

The pronounced technique is the first thing that strikes you when viewing the works of Jan Grotenbreg (1946). It is innovative and unique. The result of...

The pronounced technique is the first thing that strikes you when viewing the works of Jan Grotenbreg (1946). It is innovative and unique. The result of...

The pronounced technique is the first thing that strikes you when viewing the works of Jan Grotenbreg (1946). It is innovative and unique. The result of his idiosyncratic working method can be compared to Roman and Medieval murals, the so-called fresco in which people paint directly in wet lime. At the time, fresco technique was a decorative art form in Europe. However, it is not the decorative element that inspires and interests Jan, but the weathered appearance of the surviving fresco paintings. That is what he wanted to see in his own work. In 2000 he started experimenting with cement on linen. This technique is so special, because cement is a building material and does not stick to canvas. After many attempts, Grotenbreg has found a solution to this problem with modern binders. An impressive series of animal studies followed. Jan Grotenbreg only paints animals he has an affinity with. Animals such as the horse, the cow and the bull, as well as lesser-known animals such as the protected bird of prey, the black-capped vulture, the Egyptian Nile bird Ibis and the endangered house sparrow, have been laid down on linen by Grotenbreg in a layer of gray cement with acrylic paint in black-brown color nuances. The texture and composition of the applied cement is a very important part of his work. That's what makes it intriguing. The way in which the cement is applied determines the decisiveness of the work even more than the image. The animals, especially the sparrows, sometimes only cover a very small part of the canvas. It is clear that the emphasis is on technology. The charm of Jan Grotenbreg's work lies in the imitation of that weathering. But the animals portrayed also play a role in this and are not exempt from rendered weariness. They give a beautiful antique impression...

The pronounced technique is the first thing that strikes you when viewing the works of Jan Grotenbreg (1946). It is innovative and unique. The result of...

The pronounced technique is the first thing that strikes you when viewing the works of Jan Grotenbreg (1946). It is innovative and unique. The result of...

The pronounced technique is the first thing that strikes you when viewing the works of Jan Grotenbreg (1946). It is innovative and unique. The result of...

Aquarium (Fishs) - naive art, primitivism, folk art made in red, green, blue, yellow colors. Elena Narkevich deliberately chooses naive art, like the famous artists Henri Rousseau an...

Hutong is typical building of old Beijing, beautiful and quite, which is also a reflection of traditional clulture, for hundreds of years. There were more than 3,300 hutongs in old Beijing. Today, it is really hard to find an original hutong. They are vanished, replaced by new buildings. This artwork shows ruins of old hutong. The red sign "北大吉巷" that fell on the ground is its name. The upper part of the picture shows the modern city being built by human beings. On the left of old wall, there is Chinese character '拆', means tear down. On the bottom, there is beautiful gate...

Shin Seung-Hun is a South-Korean artist born in 1979 who lives & works in Jeju Island, Korea. He is considered by critics as the new Korean Takashi Murakami.

Artwork framed - white & wooden frame Shin Seung-Hun is a South-Korean artist born in 1979 who lives & works in Jeju Island, Korea. He is considered by critics as the new Korean...

WŁODEK WARULIK (born in 1953) Włodzimierz Warulik studied at the Academy of Fine Arts at the Atelier of Painting. He graduated in 1981 from the atalier of profesor Jan Lis. Driven b...

Magdalena Nałęcz (b. 1970) She graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow in 1995. She received numerous scholarships and prizes: in 1997 the scholarship of the city of Cracow...