Still life

If landscape-painting was a kind of leisure activity to Hofhuizen, his still lifes were a much more serious affair. He used them to try out new styles that he would later use in crucifixion paintings. A crucifixion painting usually marked the start of a new style period in Hofhuizen's work. Hofhuizen strove to use all his senses when painting, not just his rational faculties but also his intuition, which he let flow freely following a period of introspection. In the still lives shown here we see how his style changed: the earliest one still bears the Campendonk stamp, then come the "fauvist" works, reminiscent of Matisse , but in the later ones he perfected his glazing technique, his colors became fuller and his forms rounder. The last few still lives that he painted were unmistakably influenced by Cezanne. In fact, he was going back in time. They formed the prelude to his later period of "eclair obscur".

 

Oil on canvas 35x40 Around 1949	Oil on canvas 50x60 1954
Oil on panel 50x60 Around 1956	Detail
Oil on canvas 50x60 1964	Oil on panel 50x60 1968
Oil on canvas 70x60 1970	Oil on canvas 40x50 1975
Oil on canvas 60x70 1977	Detail 1977