Lying naked (1994) Jan de Graaf
photo Otto Snoek
About the artwork
In this work, artist Jan de Graaf looked for contradictions, such as the industrial-looking base against a figurative Lying naked. The shapes are therefore consciously opposed: the vertical plinth carries a horizontal woman. However, De Graaf has chosen to flatten the woman's head to create some form similarity with the plinth. Reclining nudes have been women for centuries in art history and are referred to by the exotic name 'odalisk'.
About the artist
Jan de Graaf (Dordrecht, 1948) studied at the Academy of Visual Arts in Rotterdam. He mainly makes bronze clay plastics with the human figure as subject. What is striking about Jan de Graaf's sculptures is the fact that he sometimes paints the smooth bronze surface.