Kamerscherm, drieslags, beschilderd met zes bijbelse taferelen c. 1900 - 1916

This painted three-panel screen, depicting six biblical scenes, was made by an anonymous artist at an unknown date. The palette is earthy, with dark greens, browns and muted yellows, and the brushwork is thick and gestural. You can almost feel the artist wrestling with the paint, trying to bring these ancient stories to life. I’m drawn to the way the artist uses the paint to create a sense of drama and chaos. The scenes are filled with figures in motion, animals running wild, and landscapes that seem to be crumbling around them. The paint is applied in layers, creating a textured surface that feels almost sculptural. Look at the way the light catches the impasto in the top right panel! It reminds me a bit of some of the more expressionistic history paintings, like Delacroix. But there’s also something raw and untamed about it, like a folk tale told in paint. It embraces the ambiguity of these stories, inviting us to bring our own interpretations to the screen.