Catharina van de Ven Tulips 644
“Goldmund could have made this work”, commented a colleague artist designer when he looked at one of my sculptures at my first ever exposition. I did not understand his remark but he referred to a book of Herman Hesse titled “Narcissus and Goldmund”. I promptly bought and read the book and it left an inerasable impression in my heart and head.
Years later, as I was working on one of my tapestries at TextielMuseum, their embroidery department struck me with inspiration; I wanted to make an embroidered field with hundreds of colorful tulips that together represent a hidden message. When I further contemplated the concept, I instantly knew what that hidden message would have to be: the most memorable sentences spoken by Goldmund about his vision on his own being as an artist. A vision that so fully resonated with my own view on art that I just had to translate these heartfelt words into tulips; each and every letter with its own color to create a secret writing that can only be read if one knows the hidden code.
While designing and working on the tulip field I tried to learn more about Hermann Hesse, the author of the book. How was it
possible for a respected writer to write such a striking statement about the essence of art? To my surprise I learned that Hesse, besides being a writer and a poet, also worked as a painter. Further investigation revealed that after Hesse’s death, the Goethe Institute exhibited his paintings at Arti&Amicitiae in Amsterdam. I am an artist member of Arti&Amicitiae, so I walked in Hesse’s footsteps. Closer to Goldmund than I could have imagined.
About the author:
Hermann Hesse was born in Germany in 1877. In 1930 he wrote Narciss&Goldmund. His novels, poems and critical essays
established him as one of the greatest literary figures of the German-speaking world. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946.
Hesse died in 1962
“I am a poet, a seeker, and a confessor, obligated to truth and sincerity. I have a charge, albeit small and confined: to help other

Royal Tichelaar Makkum traditional Tulip Vase

Salustiano Spring is here Zahara con collar de flores

Salustiano LOVE IS POP (ZAHARA BATE BEISBOL)

Salustiano JUAN ROLL I & II

Amarist Gravity