Pierre van Soest - Visiting the Arnolfini family with Jan van Eyck

The style of the painting series 'Visiting the Arnolfini Family with Jan van Eyck' (created between 1974 and 1978) by Pierre van Soest is best described as an expressive, figurative abstraction with surrealist and post-Cobra influences.
Although Van Soest's early work was strongly rooted in abstract expressionism, this specific series marks a period in which he transformed existing figurative masterpieces through a visual language all his own.
Deconstruction of reality: Van Soest took the world-famous, hyperrealistic Arnolfini Portrait (1434) by Jan van Eyck and literally plucked the image apart. He isolated recognizable, symbolic elements (such as the hat, the dog, the dress, or the mirror) and placed them in a completely new, fragmented composition.
The works (both the large acrylic paintings and the screen prints) are characterized by a dynamic, lively, and high-contrast use of color. The tight, detailed oil painting technique of the Flemish Primitives gives way here to a looser, more relaxed, and modern touch.

Because iconic objects have been removed from their original context and float in an abstract space, the work takes on a dreamy, surreal quality. It feels as if you—as the title suggests—are traveling through time as a modern intruder and are 'visiting' the 15th century in a visionary manner.