Lanterns

This work was created during a visit to my aunt, my mother’s sister, who gave me a painting as a gift. In her garden stood these physalis plants with their distinctive lantern-like calyces, which immediately inspired me. The warm orange and red tones of the “Chinese lanterns” against the blue-green background formed a composition I felt compelled to capture in paint.

This acrylic piece is my most recent creation — and also the most impasto and expressionistic of the selected works. Through thick layers of paint and expressive brushwork, I aimed for a more direct, emotional approach to the subject. My inspiration includes the Bergen School of post-impressionist painters, a tradition close to my heart, as my grandfather, Dirk Vis — my aunt’s father — was a member of that artistic movement.

In this painting, personal history and artistic legacy converge: my aunt’s gift, the memory of my grandfather, and the natural beauty of the physalis come together in an expressive play of color and texture that captures the essence of this meaningful encounter.