Willem van Veldhuizen | |
Birth Date: | 13 January 1954 |
Birth Place: | Rotterdam |
Nationality: | Dutch |
Known For: | Painting |
Movement: | Hyperrealism |
Awards: | 1978 Bronze medal European prize for the Art of painting - Karel Klinkenbergprize for Art of drawing - Royal Subsidy for painting |
Willem van Veldhuizen (born January 13, 1954, in Rotterdam, Netherlands) is a Dutch painter, known for his photorealism and hyperrealism paintings of his museum interiors.[1]
Willem van Veldhuizen was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands,[2] and took his studies at the Willem de Kooning Academy from 1972 to 1977 together with artists like Frank Dam, Jos Looise, and . His work is influenced by classical masters like the 17th century Dutch painter of church interiors Pieter Jansz Saenredam, with whom he shares a preference for sacred rooms, tranquility and colors in harmonizing tones, and by classic-modern masters like Mark Rothko. The composition of his paintings are composed according to an established pattern: "The upper, narrow part of the canvas shows the back wall or a glass wall through which a garden is visible. A large floor area holds a prominent place. The reality of the building or the world outside is reflected in the floors" The floor area is builds up the according to a special technique: "After the undercoat has been applied and the shadows have been put in, he 'splats' the paint against the canvas: color over color, layer on top of layer - making subtle distinctions in light and dark against the back wall".[3]
In the paintings of his museum interiors, Van Veldhuizen quotes his favorites in art, among others Michelangelo, Picasso, Man Ray, Barnett Newman, Gerrit Rietveld and Le Corbusier.[3]