LOS QUE SON... LOS QUE FUERON

Poen de Wijs (Dutch artist) 1948 - 2014
De Vier Elementen - Vuur (The Four Elements - Fire), 2005
acrylics on canvas
100 x 100 cm.
signed 
private collection

THE FOUR ELEMENTS

Carl Jung's concepts such as the "Collective Unconscious" and "Archetype" are commonplace in the world of the arts. Less well known is Jung's theory of typology, a theory in which he appoints four fundamental human types. That he derives his typological classification of the old alchemists and astrologers, places his ideas in an interesting historical perspective. Jung based himself amongst others, on the temperament theory of Hippocrates, the four human types distinguished on the basis of the four elements (ca. 400 BC).: Fire, earth, air and water.
In his series of paintings 'THE FOUR ELEMENTS' Poen goes back to the temperament theory of Hippocrates temperament and he refers to Jung. Superficially, the paintings show children in their playful universe. In the background are visible adults, while still life objects complement the whole. Those who study the paintings more profoundly, see that Poen de Wijs portrays four very different human types in a matching environment.
FIRE shows the choleric type. The children are the active and energetic carriers of light. The background is painted in red copper metallic paint and objects refer to passion and temperament. - The children in the element EARTH are melancholic. Their nature is practical, reliable and patient. They are the ones who carry, nurture and build. The background to this material element is gold. - AIR is the element that is associated with the sanguine type, investigative, artistic and idealistic. The girl with the folded newspaper on her head represents the thinking and communication. The figures in the background are painted in silver and looking up at the sky, which is also atmosphere and the celestial vault. - In the element of WATER, the children are phlegmatic, introverted and sensitive, caught in their own dream. It is the world of fantasy, of faith and intoxication, elusive as the fish. The background is bronze metallic.
Poen de Wijs plays a virtuoso game with the technical stratification according to the classical painting method. He also plays with layers in the foreground and background and with trompe l'oeil - still lives on the surface of the canvas. Concerning content, there are also several layers. Who takes the time to study his paintings cycle, ‘THE FOUR ELEMENTS' discovers many references and meanings. A fascinating spectacle in which the modern metallic paints give an almost three-dimensional effect.

Text: Piet Bogaards (Realisme 06)
Poen de Wijs