Prijspenning van de Nederlandsche Athletiek Unie (1922) 1922

Here's a bronze prize medal, made by Chris van der Hoef in 1922. The medal really makes me think about sculpture, because it's all about relief. One side shows an athlete, sprinting, and the other is framed with a laurel wreath. I can imagine the artist carefully considering each line, thinking about how the light would hit it. The athlete’s body looks so alive, and the laurel wreath has this incredible softness to it. I just imagine van der Hoef, with his tools, gently coaxing these forms out of the bronze. You know, it's like, he's not just making a medal, he’s capturing the essence of athleticism and the honor of winning. In many ways, painting and sculpting are similar, and artists are constantly responding to one another. It's all about seeing, feeling, and then finding a way to make that visible, tangible, for everyone else.