R. Van de Velde // Old and new beauty

In ‘Old and New Beauty’ two worlds collide. Sculptor and painter Robert Van de Velde, who was no doubt familiar with the work by Antwerp avant-garde artist Paul Joostens, provides the female art-deco figure in the front with the glamorous look of a moviestar.

This modern woman – symbolising a new kind of beauty – holds a small statue. It’s tempting to identity the female figure as Aphrodite: the ancient Greek goddess of beauty. Putting things like this, the classical idea of beauty seems to have fallen victim to the ephemeral fancies of the modern world.

Robert Van de Velde

Old and New Beauty

1930s

43,5 x 35 cm

mixed technique on panel // signed