This portrait, “A Poodle’s Caress,” oil on linen, 120 x 120 cm, by Bas Nijenhuis, is one of 50 portraits nominated for the 2025 Dutch Portrait Prize and can be seen until Sunday, August 31st, in the Cultural Wing of Slot Zeist in the exhibition: The Portrait.
From the catalog/text by the artist:
This work, like much of my work, is not a painting of what you see depicted. What is painted is usually a representation of a human experience, feeling, or the psyche.
In this work, you see an image of a boy, but it is not a portrait of him. There is also an outside (world) and an inside (world). A posture and a gaze outward, a thought? An invitation, a curiosity, or a hesitation perhaps? And there is a strange white porcelain poodle. What is it doing there and why is “a poodle’s caress” in All this? Strange! And then there’s time: a link to old masters (composition), a 120-year-old space, an old part of town, an old-fashioned coffee maker, and modern clothing. Is this about “the past” or about the present: the current turbulent times? It could also simply be a chance moment in the artist’s studio. Anyone who knows is welcome to share… That’s the message and the beauty of art: there was an intention, the beginning of creation, and then there’s an observer and an interpreter: only at that moment does the artwork exist.

Opening hours Slot Zeist: Tuesday to Sunday from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
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