Casper Faassen - Leonardo - Sold

Casper Faassen screen print painting.
Screen print, numbered, and with the artist's signature in pencil Size Wide 60cm Height 50 image 30×40cm.
Casper Faassen
(*1975, NL) grew up in Leiden. There he developed his passion for drawing, painting and art. Famous Leiden masters – Gerrit Dou (1613-1675), Jan Steen (1625-1679) and Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) – were his source of inspiration. After leaving high school, Faassen studied at the University of Amsterdam. He continued to pursue his artistic ambitions, painted daily and built up an impressive oeuvre. The influence of Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920) in his work – in particular his (female) nudes – is clearly reflected in both the subject and the strong lines. Characteristic of Faassen's work is his continuously innovative approach to materials, techniques and disciplines. In addition to painting and graphic art, Faassen spends much of his time on the medium of photography. In his photographic work we recognize the Leiden painters who inspired him. His signature works depict their classic 17th century themes such as cityscapes, vanitas paintings and floral arrangements. A look at Faassen's oeuvre as a whole shows that themes such as transience, beauty and feminine splendor form the basis of his work. In his own words: "The juxtaposition between the eternal and the temporary, beauty and decay, appearance and disappearance is my main theme. All painters and photographers have the ability to freeze time and capture a single moment. I emphasize that moment through an element of time - not necessarily by using literal vanitas references, but through the handling of materials. The use of craquelure is my symbol for time and introduces a visual element because it is oil paint and therefore sharp, in contrast to the rest of the blurred image. Most of the distance is created by the way the photo was taken, through a matte medium. I print the image on that same matte medium to give an extra sense of distance. What I also like about the craquelure is the texture it gives to the surface or skin. The work becomes more material, more substantial, pointing towards painting rather than photography and thus encouraging a different way of perceiving the work. Within this visual language I have grown so comfortable with, I love exploring different themes."