Declaration of love by Peter P.M. de Haan
When I asked Peter to make miniatures for ‘Seasons of Life’, a contemporary book of hours and pilgrims, he was immediately enthusiastic. He thought it was a wonderful idea and immediately started fantasizing. He wrote: “For me it would be a declaration of love to life and especially to its beauty, but for the complete picture not without the dark sides…”
Peter P.M. de Haan was born in 1947 in Bergen N.H. He studied at the Rijksacademie van Beeldende Kunst in Amsterdam. His work is a bit enigmatic. It has something of a fairy tale and is painted in calm colors. His paintings and drawings often refer to mythological and biblical stories. His message is never compelling. I do feel challenged to search for meaning. While reflecting and associating, I walk through his work and get to know myself better. For the Book of Hours he drew Christophorus, Damien on a butterfly hunt, Quo Vadis and Father, son and parrot.
About painting, Peter says:
Painting is a way of shaping your relationship to existence, of expressing something of your personality. In my case, it also means a way of thinking about the world and about people. However, I am a dreamer and not a realist. I strive for a certain distance from everyday reality, without doing too much violence to it and without falling into a mannerist or caricatural distortion. My painted world must resemble the real world as if in a dream. But painting is and always will be concerned with form, colour, light and composition.
