Constant Nieuwenhuys - Colorism

Colorism

After ten years of only working on New Babylon, Constant returns to painting, watercoloring and graphics in 1969. Till half way through the seventies the subjects of his imaginary world New Babylon still crowd his work. However more and more he's inspired by contemporary and political issues, including such things as the Vietnam War, African famine and Kosovo refugees. Marxism is a strong influence. Rudi Fuchs (nl) says in his foreword for the Catalogue of Constant Painting in 1995 "There are people who consider Constant's later work as a return to tradition. I, however, do not share this opinion. Because I consider his later development from the seventies as greater penetration into the garden of painting."

In the tradition of the Venetian Reneaissance painters, Titian and Tintoretto, Constant applies himself to the technique of colorism. Following this technique the artist doesn't make use of charcole or pencil sketches but applies colour directly on the canvas with the paintbrush constructing soft transitions instead of sharp contours. The most important feature of this technique is the way light is expressed in the painting by integrating it into the color. This technique is laborious. The painting comes to life layer by layer. Constant paints with oil on canvas and every layer he applies then needs to dry. In this period Constant produces a mere 3 to 4 painting per year.