Henk Helmantelartist • painter • printmakerWesteremden 1945

As a fine painter, Henk Helmantel is one of the most important painters of the Dutch post-war realists. At the age of fifteen, he came into contact with the old masters from the Rijksmuseum, who left an indelible impression on him. In the still lifes and church interiors with which he would later become famous, the influence of seventeenth-century painters such as Rembrandt and Vermeer is clearly present, both in light and use of colour. Helmantel's Christian beliefs are central to his daily life and his work. The artist sees beauty in the most ordinary things around him and invites the viewer to experience this together with him. In his work this is expressed in the inspiration he draws from craftsmanship, the fabric expression of the objects, a subtle colour palette of dark gray, green and blue with a bright color accent here and there and the representation of light. This is especially visible in his still lifes, in which the objects - displayed by the artist with great care and attention on a table near the window of his studio - are worked out in great detail and brush strokes, and reliefs in the paint layer are barely noticeable.

Born in Westeremden and raised in a reformed family, Helmantel moved back to his native village in 1967 after his 4-year education at the Minerva Academy in Groningen. Despite his time at the academy in a period when people wanted to make a radical break with old traditions for a completely new style, Helmantel remained faithful to his search for a kind of tranquil eternity that he found in the everyday. In Westeremden he paints his serene still lifes, church interiors and the occasional landscape or self-portrait in his studio, the parsonage farm next to the Andreas Church. In his still lifes he carefully arranges objects – old kitchen utensils, dishes and food – on a wooden table, which marks the horizontal line on the canvas. The arrangement creates a balanced composition of shapes and colours, with the light usually falling from the right side. After 1980, his still lifes changed somewhat because he created a greater separation between main and secondary matters through lighting and elaboration.

Museum De Weem, which is located in the barn part of the 13th-century parsonage farm, opened its doors in 1985. Helmantel, who enjoys great national and international fame, still works and exhibits here. Together with his wife Babs, in addition to his own work, he built up a collection of ancient art, old objects, sculptures and religious art.