C. (CAREL) WILLINK 1900 Amsterdam - 1983 Amsterdam Garden with Birds of Prey
Oil / Canvas: 100 x 75 cm
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Details
In_ 'Garden with Birds of Prey'_, Carel Willink crafts a scene that feels both clear and realistic yet alienating and menacing. The dramatic, cloudy sky, bright raking light, and deep shadows heighten the sense of tension. Two birds of prey are shown in a formally designed garden, with a bleak, wintry landscape in the background. The contrast between the cultivated garden and wild nature creates a sense of unease, as if humans have vanished. Willink used photographs and merged recognisable elements into a convincing yet fictional reality. This almost photographic detail intensifies the unsettling feeling that something is not quite right, a hallmark of his imaginary realism.
Width: 75 cm
Collection Drs. Loek Brons, Amsterdam, 1990 (ca.)
Private collection The Netherlands
Brussel, Galerie d'Art, 'Carel Willink', 1967
Arnhem, Gemeentemuseum, 'Carel Willink', 1968
Antwerpen, Koninklijk Museum voor Schoone Kunsten, 'Carel Willink', 1971
Rotterdam, Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, 'Carel Willink', 1973
Amsterdam, Art Gallery Van Wisselingh, 'Carel Willink', 1977
H.L.C. Jaffé, "Willink", 1979, Amsterdam, p. 143, no. 270 (ill.)
Over C. (CAREL) WILLINK
Carel Willink was the most important Dutch painter of magic realism. He also painted many portraits of wealthy Dutchmen. He was born in Amsterdam and made his first oil painting at age fourteen. He attended art school in Berlin. He was a pupil of Hans Baluschek at the International Free Academy. Until 1924 he painted mostly abstract, influenced by Constructivism. This was followed by his experiments with Cubism and Futurism. Because of his trip to Italy, he was influenced by Giorgio de Chirico, who produced metaphysical paintings. This art gives a sense of alienation and that is how Willink arrived at his magical realism. Often landscapes and classicist architecture are the background gravel of they figures or animals. The canvases look pessimistic and give a sense of emptiness and decay. He made extensive use of photography to get as close to reality as possible. In addition, lighting played a major role in his work. Carel was 83 years old when he died in Amsterdam.
