ArtWay

Beauty is not pasted over suffering but grows out of it—like the proverbial shoot from parched ground. Bruce Herman

Artists

Leede, André de

André de Leede

Bio

I was raised on a farm in the Dutch polder area Krimpenerwaard, in the vicinity of Gouda. After secondary school I studied at the Agricultural University in Wageningen. I majored in biochemistry and microbiology. An eye for details, the world of small things, all those astonishing forms and colours – they all found their place in the paintings that I make.

After my studies I had several jobs in research and education. Since a number of years I am mainly occupied with painting.
 
 
The inspiration for the paintings primarily comes from my direct living environment, the polder landscapes around Gouda and the flowers, stones and mosses behind my house.
 
The Dwelling Place is the first series of paintings in which I elaborated a theme from the Bible. For already a number of years I am fascinated by the tabernacle or Dwelling Place. During the journey through the desert God commissioned the erection of this dwelling place as a place for the Israelites to serve and meet him. It consisted of a tent with forecourt and a simple interior. It makes use, however, of a very powerful symbolism that plays a role throughout the Bible.
 
In 2009 I started with a careful elaboration of this theme in a series of sketches while searching for an appropriate style to represent it on canvas. In the end this resulted in the seven paintings of The Dwelling Place. The series starts between the dust and stones of the desert and ends in front of the inner sanctuary of the Dwelling Place. Every time one of the components or objects in the tabernacle serves as the basis of the painting. On one painting the concerned object of the tabernacle may be pictured explicitly, while on another it is almost unnoticeable. There is, moreover, a track that continues through all of the seven works that ends up in front of the inner sanctuary. The third and sixth works of the series are pictured underneath.
 
1. Third work of the series The Dwelling Place: In the forecourt, in front of the Dwelling Place, the brass basin, acrylics on canvas, 100 x 80 cm.
 
2. Sixth work of the series The Dwelling Place: Directly in front of the curtain with the cherubs stands the small golden incense altar for the offering of the prayers; it is only one by one yard and two yards high. Acrylics on canvas, 100 x 200 cm.
 
3. Moss landscape with crocuses, acrylics on canvas, 80 x 80 cm. Price: € 820,-
 
4. Moss landscape, acrylics on canvas, 60 x 80 cm. Price: € 640,-
 
5. Reeds, acrylics on canvas, 80 x 60 cm. Price: € 520,-
 
Publication
André de Leede, The Dwelling Place; seven paintings, 28 pages with colour prints and an explanatory text. € 9 including postage. To be ordered via my website.
 
Website