Two females (1956) Hans Petri

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About the artwork

Plastic has been applied to the façade of the landing of the Huizen Grootenboom van Os residential complex. The decoration on Van Goghlaan 2 is understandable for everyone and is closely related to the purpose of the residential complex consisting of 40 homes for the elderly (60 +) with a limited income and capital. The houses are on loan for free. The stone plastic Two females, of whom the youngest supports the oldest, is a gift from the residents of the old building of the foundation on the Goudsestraat, which was completely destroyed during the bombing of 14 May 1940. Sculptor Hans Petri from Dordrecht made the statue and the gable stone, on which the text reads: 'Here the care of one relieves the care of the other / It may be that the sun of life is still high in the sky / or already inclined'. The statue was painted on June 21, 1956 by the chairman of the foundation ir. N. Th. Koomans revealed. The work is clearly designed for the location, because the wall behind and the surrounding vegetation together give a feeling of shelter, which suits the intimacy of the artwork.

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About the artist

Hans Petri (Weerselo, 1919 - Dordrecht, 1996) graduates from the Rotterdam art academy, after which he works as a graphic artist and sculptor. After the reconstruction he received many commissions for public space, especially in Dordrecht and Rotterdam, but also elsewhere in the country. He mainly worked in stone, later sometimes in concrete. After creating freestanding sculptures and reliefs, he has been active as an environmental designer, with his 'eggs' at Erasmus University being an important example. These and other works have been demolished, several others still remain in the public space. In 2001 he was posthumously given a major retrospective exhibition in the Dordrechts Museum.

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