Plafond met stucwerk in het Paushuize te Utrecht 1911

This ceiling with stucco work was made anonymously at Paushuize in Utrecht, but sometime before today. Look at this surface, the way it swells and curves, as if the ceiling itself is breathing! I imagine the anonymous artist, up on scaffolding, troweling and shaping this wet plaster, building up the forms layer by layer. What was going through their mind as they rendered these classical figures, these swirling clouds and ornate details? Each gesture, each push and pull of the material, a conversation between hand and eye. The figure frozen mid-motion with an arm raised holding what appears to be a quill. Are they writing something, recording something, or perhaps erasing it? I can feel the rhythm of their movements, the weight and texture of the plaster. It's a reminder that art is not just about the final product, but about the act of creation itself. It's about the give-and-take between the artist and the materials, the way ideas emerge through the process of making.