Middelburg: The blue hour

View from the Market to the Lange Viele  and the Vlasmarkt

Painting height:             3.60 meter
Painting length:            15.60 meter
Period of time:              October 2017 – April 2019
Painting time:                about 700 man hours

WHERE IS THIS?

The Middelburg Market square looking at the monumental old City hall, on the left side a lot of the local social life takes place in the local pubs and cafes that can be found there. The Lange Viele and the Vlasmarkt have both been rebuilt in the traditional style after the shootings and large fire of 17 May 1940, in the meantime this has now become a pedestrian area.

THE RESULT

In the summer of 2016 the painter visited Café Place du Forum in the little French town of Arles which was painted by Vincent van Gogh, and he decided to make something similar. It became the panorama of the pubs and bars with a view towards the Lange Viele and the Vlasmarkt. He asked his friend Tim to take the photos between twilight and the darkness; “oh you mean in the blue hour” was Tims reaction.

The composition with the darkness on both sides and in the center the light and liveliness works well. Under the motto of “I paint what I exaggerate” he accentuated the lighting near the pubs and bars. Half of the time was spent on the painting of the City hall. A very time consuming job because of the complexity and lack of overview due to the size of the building.