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Thumbnail-size images of copyrighted artworks are displayed under fair use, in accordance with guidelines recommended by the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for the Visual Arts, published by the College Art Association in February 2015.
The German
Michaël Borremans (Belgian, born in 1963)
2002
Medium/Technique
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
50 x 42 cm (19 11/16 x 16 9/16 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase with funds donated by The Buddy Taub Foundation, Dennis A. Roach and Jill J. Roach, Directors
Accession Number2002.321
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope, Contemporary Art
ClassificationsPaintings
In the twenty-first century, the challenges of working in a traditional medium and choosing to master the luminous qualities of traditional oil paints have led artists to reexamine the power of painting the figure. The small scale and intimacy of Borremans' composition are pushed to a level of mystery by the blurred rendering and the peculiar nature of the subject's action. Here, Borremans has created an enigmatic work in the style of his Symbolist and Surrealist predecessors. His paintings depict subjects caught in the middle of undefined and indefinable gestures and settings, allowing the viewer to assign their own interpretations to the works; projecting meanings from their own subconscious memories and experiences onto Borremans' characters.
ProvenanceThe artist; with Zeno X, Antwerp, Belgium; purchased by MFA, Boston, September 25, 2002