Gerrit Wijngaardenartist • painterDedgum 1963

This Friesland-born artist started his career painting almost exclusively still lifes. Wijngaarden depicted compositions with berries, chestnuts, cherries and apples in a detailed manner and with an excellent mastery of painting shadow effects. For his still lifes he was inspired by other painters from the North, including Henk Helmantel. Later in life he also started painting landscapes, interiors and portraits. There is almost always a form of silence in his work. He himself says about this: 'Silence, melancholy and the mystery of existence play a major role in my work'. Wijngaarden's later work is sometimes regarded as magical realism.