Three Tree Triptych

The image depicts a three-panel landscape painting of a serene countryside with clusters of trees under a dramatically cloudy sky.

The image depicts a three-panel landscape painting of a serene countryside with clusters of trees under a dramatically cloudy sky.

Name/Title

Three Tree Triptych

Entry/Object ID

2021.3.1abc

Type of Painting

Easel

Artwork Details

Medium

Oil

Category

Calvin Faculty Artist, On-Display at Calvin University, Landscape, Plants and Nature

Made/Created

Artist

Chris Stoffel Overvoorde

Date made

1988

Dimensions

Dimension Description

overall (a = left panel, b = center panel, c = right panel)

Height

66 in

Width

146 in

Dimension Description

painted surface (each panel)

Height

65-5/8 in

Width

47-1/2 in

General Notes

Note

Expanded Wall Label: Landscape painting is a way of exploring nature in a special way. To stand or sit in a landscape is an experience we cannot always express in words. The inability to say it in words has led me to painting. The process of painting allows me to understand that special moment in a new way. Painting is a way of knowing, of exploring, a new way of seeing what at first was ordinary and commonplace. To reach beyond the appearance of the physical and search for the invisible elements of nature has been my challenge. Space, light and atmosphere have a special attraction for me and they have become vehicles to get at the invisible powers present in nature. This triptych, in some way, is an altar to nature, a nature that reveals the power and creativity of God. In this imaginary landscape there are three sets of trees in each panel It is also and exploration of the mathematical idea of randomness, for the spacing between each tree is never the same. The three trees also suggest the idea of the trinity.