De fruitschaal 1988

This painting, "De fruitschaal", probably made with simple oils, shows us a fruit bowl with some apples or oranges. The colors are mostly warm, with reds and oranges dominating the scene, underpinned by yellows, and contained by strong dark outlines. I can imagine Eugene Brands stepping back, squinting, adding another dab of paint, maybe scraping some off. You can almost feel the energy of his hand as he lays down these bold strokes. The paint looks buttery, thick in some spots, thin in others. Look how the lines wiggle and wobble - you can see the artist trying to get it just right but not worrying about perfection, just trying to nail that feeling, the essence of the bowl and the fruit. It reminds me of other artists who weren’t trying to paint ‘realistically’ but going for something more, something truer. We can see it as part of a broader conversation about what painting can be, and how artists inspire each other across time. Painting is so physical, so embodied, it lets us express things that words just can’t capture.