Technique: Mixed media (stained glass, collage, acrylic)

Size: ca. 90 x 62 cm inc. frame

Jennemaria was a young woman when the French revolution reached the Netherlands. After more than a century of oppression the people of Brabant got more religious freedom and influence in the government. In spite of poverty this must have meant happier times. Suzanne imagines our foremother as an optimistic person. Jennemaria gets married shortly after the revolution, she can’t read or write, so she signs her certificate with a cross.

This cross is the only tangible evidence I have found of her and I have put prints of it in the collage. Different elements and colors in this painting have a symbolic meaning to me.

The glass is slightly bend. Light on the glass creates a shadow on the painting. This shadow is an alternative projection of Jennemarie and might be closer to reality than my paintwork.