Restless
By Egbert Vincent Modderman
© Egbert Vincent Modderman
Born in Heerenveen, the Netherlands, Egbert Modderman studied at the Minerva Art Academy and Visual Arts in Groningen. He began painting professionally four years ago after being invited by the city’s Martinikerk (Martin’s Church) to paint a depiction of St Martin. His work has been seen in solo exhibitions in the Netherlands and the USA. The portrait is part of Modderman’s series of large-scale oil paintings portraying characters and stories from the Bible.
Modderman recruited a local bricklayer, Oetze, to pose as his model after he spotted him working in his neighbourhood. After taking hundreds of photographs and making several compositional sketches during the sitting, he spent the next month working in oils to fnish the portrait. Modderman’s work places emphasis on the individual’s ‘relatable emotions’ rather than the sacred mysteries that form the cornerstone of Catholic religious imagery.
