Hans de Bruijn (b. 1959, Leiden) graduated cum laude in 1986 from the KABK in The Hague and subsequently spent two years in a work period at the Rijksacademie in Amsterdam.
The focus of his work is painting itself.
He describes his oeuvre as: “The landscape of painting.”
His work is deeply rooted in the tradition of painting. Particularly, Romanticism plays a significant role. This history serves as an inexhaustible source of inspiration for him. This is evident, for example, in paintings of the hare and the dog, both created from drawings by Albrecht Dürer.
De Bruijn links Dürer directly with 20th-century artist Joseph Beuys, whose shamanistic vision connects art with a dead hare. The religious aspect of Beuys, combined with Dürer’s partially religiously oriented work, gives both artists a whole new meaning. Additionally, there is the myth of Beuys and his crashed Stuka. This is a literal ruin—the crashed airplane—but also an idealistic ruin, as the artist, sent by God, descends to Earth and proclaims his art to the world. Hence the religious title: “Sende Deinen Geist aus.” From the ruin, everything can be made new again.
Hans de Bruijn.