Saturday 10 May 2014

Koen Vermeule / Jacob Lawrence



Jacob Lawrence
The Migration of the Negro, panel 52
1940-1941
tempera on masonite
30,5 x 45,7 cm
The Phillips Collection, Washington DC & Museum of Modern Art, New York



When I first saw the series 'The Migration of the Negro' by Jacob Lawrence, I was deeply touched by this history of African American Americans. Not the strength of realism, but rather that of the imagination makes that these works are forever impressed in my memory.
The series consists of 60 works and seems to symbolize the universal aspiration of people of all races to a better life.
I painted 'Le Depart' in 2011, after I had seen a raft at the edge of the IJsselmeer, probably made for a race or an adventure, ready to leave. Shortly thereafter the thought came over me that many fortune seekers risk their lives in crossing the ocean on such a raft, attempting to escape poverty and misery.
Koen Vermeule, 2014


 


Koen Vermeule (NL)
Le Depart
2011
oil on canvas
96,3 x 250,4 cm
private collection München




No comments:

Post a Comment