Carel Joseph Anton Begeer (1936) 1936

Jacob Jan van Goor made this bronze medal, called "Carel Joseph Anton Begeer," sometime around 1936. The smooth surface and muted tones give it this air of, I don't know, subdued dignity. I can just imagine Van Goor, carefully carving away at the metal, trying to capture something of Begeer's essence, his character. Did he labor over every little detail? Did he use tiny tools? Probably, and you can really see that intensity of focus here, like he's trying to freeze a moment in time. I wonder what it was like to create this piece. It is a controlled exercise in image-making, the complete opposite of my own, more chaotic practice. I think the medals capture more than just a likeness, they seem to hint at the weight of history, of tradition, of the people who came before us. It puts me in mind of other artists like Thomas Lawrence who’ve captured the spirit of their age. Artists, we're all just ping-ponging ideas off each other, across time and space.