Antonius Bernardus 'Toon' Kelder
Rotterdam 1894-1973 Den Haag
A sleeping beauty, oil on canvas 53 x 69,3 cm., signed l.r.
In the nineteen thirties until about 1945, Toon Kelder had a period in which he painted dreamy idyllic images: horsemen and mythological figures in wooded landscapes as well as subtle, stylised female figures painted in soft, hazy colours. Depicted as idealised dream images in seductive poses, these nudes have a refined sensuality, yet because of the light and almost transparent tones have something abstract about them, which creates a certain distance. In the early Fifties, the painter went a step further, only making abstract images and paintings.