'Roundness is the suitable shape for objects that belong nowhere and everywhere'
(The power of the center by Rudolf Arnheim, 1982)

Dutch

Tondo, that's what a round painting was called in the Renaissance. Round-shaped works of art have been around since ancient Greece. But why round paintings? That is the question with which Hans Roos (NL, Scheveningen 1950) embarked on a completely new adventure around 2010. After years of designing and making illustrations for the screen, he began to resent the boundaries of that screen. Both the size and the rectangular shape.

The representation of visible reality almost without exception has a rectangular frame (photo, film, and painting). Going back to our eyes and to the image plane that it produces, far from angular, basically round, that was his starting point. Such a frame has no corners, no direct relation to the straight lines of the space around it. This seems to point mainly to itself and even more emphatically to its own centre.

Choosing a frame without corners has consequences. Developing your own new visual language. And 'getting used to' the corners, which has consequences for the composition and structure of the painting. He started with large geometric surfaces that may or may not come into contact with the frame or, on the contrary, negate that frame, such as when one looks through a window where lines seem to continue outside that window.

A round image has a tendency to 'roll'. With a rectangle there are compositional possibilities due to the angles present to bring an image to rest. But with round paintings it is a challenge to put the image 'still'. The painting series 'Homage aan het plein' by Josef Albers was a great inspiration for Hans Roos. The placement of the squares below the center stabilizes, as it were, the composition in the square.

Due to the attention to the boundaries of the surface, Hans Roos gradually developed an interest in the frames with which traditional paintings are bordered. Because that's where the painting definitively ends. Or better; the frame is the buffer between the world inside and outside the painting. But why are those usually decorative elements that form that buffer? Decorative elements, mainly due to their repetitive character and the symmetry used, only momentarily demand our attention and give space to what they enclose. The recent paintings are an investigation into the potential of patterns and their effect within a round framework.

Ideas arising from this research are first drawn up. Due to the geometric character of the work, the translation from sketch to screen is effective. In this way, the color research and the compositional variations can be investigated at a rapid pace. The final interpretation into a concrete image has yet to begin.

The artisanal phase, making the curved stretchers and covering them with linen, acts as an introductory dance before painting can begin. The important thing is to copy the final composition from the screen without hesitation. The painting itself, with the constant possibility to vary, is off the track for the time being. The design is strictly followed, soothing as the paintings become more and more complex. Due to the large size, he is literally in the painting and sees how it develops, unlike the picture on the screen.

The dancing linen, the background, the build-up of thin layers of paint, the effect of the colours, everything ensures that the painting begins to lead a life of its own and copying is then interpreted and new decisions are made that do justice to the starting point.

Seeing from a great distance that the image partly dissolves into details and then seeing the painting open up close gives him great joy.

English

Tondo, that is how a round painting was called in the Renaissance. Circular works of art were already made in the Greek Antiquity. But why round paintings? That is the question with which Hans Roos (NL, Scheveningen 1950) started a completely new adventure around 2010. After years of designing and making illustrations for the screen, he was bothered by the boundary of that screen. In terms of format and the rectangular shape.

The representation of the visible reality almost without exception has a rectangular frame (photo, film, and painting). Going back to our eyes and to the image that yields that, far from angular, basically round, that was his starting point. Such a framework has no corners, no direct relation with the straight lines of the space around it. That seems to point to itself and even more emphatically to its own center.

Making a choice for a framework without corners has consequences. Developing a new visual language. And to 'get rid of' the corners, which has consequences for the composition and the structure of the painting. He started with large geometric surfaces that did or did not come into contact with the framework or denied that framework just as one looks through a window where lines seem to continue outside that window.

A round image tends to 'roll'. With a rectangle there are compositional possibilities through the available angles to calm an image. But with round paintings it is a challenge to silence the image. Josef Albers's 'Homage to the square' series of paintings was a great inspiration for Hans Roos. The placement of the squares below the middle stabilizes, as it were, the composition in the square.

By drawing attention to the boundaries of the plane, Hans Roos gradually developed an interest in the picture-frame with which traditional paintings are bordered. Because that's where the painting only ends. or better; the picture frame is the buffer between the world inside and outside the painting. But why are these usually decorative elements that form that buffer? Decorative elements, especially because of their repetitive character and the symmetry used, only require a brief attention and give space to what they enclose. The recent paintings are an investigation into the potential of patterns and their effect within a round framework.

Ideas arising from this research are first drawn. Due to the geometric character of the work, the translation from sketch to computer screen is effective. For example, color research and compositional variations can be investigated at a rapid pace. The final interpretation into a concrete image must then begin.

The artisan stage, the making of the curved frame and the stretching with linen works as an introductory dance before painting can begin. It is important to take the final chosen composition first without hesitation from the screen. The painting itself, with the constant ability to vary, is temporarily off the track. The design is strictly followed, soothing because the paintings become increasingly complex. Because of the large size, he is literally in the painting and sees how it develops, unlike the picture on the screen.

The dancing linen, the surface texture, the build up of thin layers of paint, the working of the colors, everything ensures that the painting starts to lead its own life and copying is then interpreted and again making decisions that do justice to the starting point .

Seeing from a great distance that the image partly dissolves in details, and then to see the painting open from close up gives him much joy.

German

Tondo, so wurde ein rundes Gemälde in der Renaissance genannt. Runde Kunstwerke gibt es bereits seit der griechischen Antike. Aber warum ran Gemälde? Das ist die Frage, mit der Hans Roos (NL, Scheveningen 1950) um das Jahr 2010 ein ganz neues Abenteuer beginn. Nachdem er jahrelang Design und Illustrationen am Computer entworfen hatte, störte er sich an den Begrenzungen des Bildschirms. Sowohl am Format als auch an der Rechteckigen Form.

Die Repräsentation der sichtbaren Wirklichkeit ist fast ausnahmslos von einem Rechteckigen Rahmen begrenzt (Photo, Film und Gemälde). Rückzuschließen auf unsere Augen und die Bildfläche, auf dieser Rückschluss resultiert, nicht eckig, grundsätzlich rund, das war sein Ausgangspunkt. Ein solcher Rahmen weist keine Ecken auf, keine direkte Beziehung zu den Rechten Linien des umgebenden Raums. There seems vor allem auf sich selbst und nor nachdrücklicher auf das eigene Zentrum zu verweisen.

Sich für einen Umriss ohne Ecken zu entscheid hat Konsequenzen. Die Entwicklung einer eigenen, neuen Bildsprache. Und die „Entwöhnung“ von den Ecken hat Folgen für die Komposition und den Aufbau des Gemäldes. Er beginn mit großen geometricn Flächen, die mit dem Rahmen sehr wohl oder eben auch nicht in Kontakt kamen oder diesen Rahmen schlechterdings leuneten, so wie man durch ein Fenster sieht, außerhalb dessen sich Linien fortzusetzen schinen.

Ein rundes Bild weist eine Tendenz zum „Rollen“ auf. Bei einem Rechteck lassen die vorhandenen Ecken kompositorische Möglichkeiten zur Beruhigung des Bildes zu. Aber bei runden Gemälden ist es eine Herausforderung, das Bild „ruhig zu Stel“. Josef Albers' Gemäldeserie Hommage an das Quadrat war hierbei eine große Inspiration für Hans Roos. Die Position der Quadrate unter der Mitte stabilizes in etwa die Komposition im Quadrat.

Durch das Augenmerk auf die Begrenzungen der gemalten Fläche entwickelte Hans Roos nach und nach ein Interesse an dem Rahmen, mit denen traditionelle Gemälde umsäumt zijn. Denn dort endet das Gemälde definitiv. Oder besser: Der Rahmen ist die Schwelle zwischen der Welt innerhalb und außerhalb des Gemäldes. Aber warum sind es dann in der Regel dekorative Elemente, aus danen die Schwelle besteht? Decorative Elemente, vor allem durch ihren repetitiven Charakter und die ins Spiel brought Symmetry, beanspruchen nur kurz unsere Aufmerksamkeit und geben dem, was sie einschließen, Raum. Die jüngsten Gemälde sind eine Erforschung der Möglichkeiten von Mustern und deren Wirkung in einem runden Rahmen.

Ideas, which aus diesen Studien hervorgehen, became zunächst als Zeichnung umgesetzt. Durch den geometricen Charakter der Arbeit ist die Übersetzung von der Skizze zum Bildschirm leicht möglich. So können die Farberkundung und die kompositorischen Variationen sehr zügig vonstatten gehen. Die endgültige Umsetzung des konkreten Bildes muss dann erst nor begin.

Die handwerkliche Phase, die Herstellung der benten Keilrahmleisten und das Aufspannen der Leinwand ist wie ein einleitender Tanz vor dem Akt des Malens. Es ist wichig, die letztendlich gewählte Komposition ohne jedes Zögern vom Bildschirm zu übernehmen. Das Malen selbst, mit der permanenten Möglichkeit zur Abweichung, ist vorläufig ausgesetzt. The Entwurf was followed strictly, it was known that the Malereien became more and more complex. Durch das große Format befindet er sich buchstäblich im Gemälde und sieht, wie es sich entwickelt, ganz als das Bild auf dem Monitor.

Die tanzende Leinwand, der Grund, das Auftragen von dünnen Farbschichten, die Wirkung der Farben, alles sorgt dafür, dass das Gemälde ein eigenes Leben zu führen beginnt. Copying wird dann Interpretieren und aufs Neue Entscheidungentreffen, die sich vom Ausgangspunkt ableiten.

If you look at the picture, see the details in detail, and then look at the results, you can see the results in more depth.