Gijs Assmann (1966)
The Tempter II (1996)
ceramics, height approx. 57 cm, intersection approx. 32 cm
What symbolism can you detect in this artwork?
In the display case, two works of art by Gijs Assmann stand side by side with overlapping themes. Seventeenth-century painting contains a lot of symbolism. Objects such as a skull, a spool of yarn and broken glass refer to the temporality of earthly life. Fruit refers to earthly desires and abundance. The observer at the time understood this imagery immediately, but for us it is no longer so obvious. A ball of yarn, for example, can symbolize a variety of things. With his modern, visual translation of classical motifs, Assmann refers both to this multiplicity of interpretations and to the universal principles of impermanence and greed.
Photography: Thomas Dobber
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