LAS TRES GRACIAS || Poen de Wijs

Poen de Wijs

Poen de Wijs (Dutch artist) 1948 – 2014
De Drie Gratiën, Herinneringen (The Three Graces, Memories), 1990
oil on canvas 
80 x 100 cm.
signed Poen de WIjs
private collection

POEN DE WIJS IN THE RETINUE OF THE THREE GRACES
In the course of a number of conversations, and during our correspondence, Poen fulfilled my desire for more information about his work. He granted me a glimpse of his creative and mental process. I would like to share Poen's personal vision of his work with the reader by letting him speak for himself, thus offering an additional key to his fascinating work.
You chose the theme of "The Three Graces" and developed it into a series of paintings, watercolours and lithographs. What brought you to this?
The origin of my idea is first and foremost emotionally determined. Some five years ago I took a tram ride through The Hague. I hardly ever do that because I hate it, the tram is always stuffy and too crowded. Staring out of the window is the only way to escape irritation. In the Spui [a street in the middle of The Hague], the tram halted for a while at the pedestrian crossing where hundreds of shopping people crossed the street. My eye was caught by three girls who walked along with the crowd with their arms linked.
I noticed they had a lot of fun together, but what really moved me was that the three girls were of three different races: Asian, black and white. I am not sure why this unexpected sight evoked such a powerful succession of associations. Was it the ring of the word "integration" that came to my mind? Was it the fact they had something in common despite their different skin colours? Or was it perhaps my sense of aesthetics that made me connect this trinity with art-historical representations. I was witness to an intimacy that momentarily isolated itself from the crowd. I became aware of its topical character and saw a symbol of cultural unification of races and cultures that will integrate in our mind-broadening era. Simultaneously, I remembered my conversation with G. about classical themes in art some months ago. Separate fragments suddenly fell into place in a staggering and yet lucid moment. There, from that stuffy tram, I saw the three Graces walking past.
And when you got home you started painting right away!
No. Although a lucid moment like that strikes me with an idea, afterwards I usually need a long time to allow it to mature. The three Graces concept was not much more than a draft, which sat in my drawer for two years before I could start working on it.
Why did it take so long?
Because first I wanted to learn more about the background of this classical theme. Apart from emotion, the intellect plays a very important part in the creative process in my work.
Poen de Wijs