Mayor Peter den Oudsten (2015-2019)

About this artwork.

Peter den Oudsten (born 1951) is a board member and politician of the Labor Party and grew up in Leeuwarden. He started his career in politics in 1997 as an alderman in Leeuwarden. Den Oudsten held the office of mayor in various municipalities for years and was mayor of Groningen from 2015 to 2019. At the start of his mayorship in Groningen, Den Oudsten showed great political and administrative involvement in combating the consequences of natural gas extraction in Groningen. He had a sharp eye and a listening ear for the suffering of victims and promoted solutions where possible. Peter den Oudsten has committed himself with unwavering enthusiasm and commitment to draw attention to the position of Groningen at home and abroad. He saw clearly where the opportunities for Groningen lay and took advantage of them in an excellent way.

From 1 January 2019 he was acting mayor of the new municipality of Groningen, which arose from the merger of the (former) municipalities of Groningen, Haren and Ten Boer. In December 2018, Den Oudsten announced that he would remain as an observer until a new mayor was found. Koen Schuiling succeeded him as the new mayor of Groningen since September 2019. When he left, Den Oudsten was named an honorary citizen of the municipality of Groningen.

The mayor's portrait was painted in 2019 by painter Adriaan de Wolf (born 1986), at the time still a master's student at the Classical Academy of Art in Groningen. It was an assignment for the master's students to make a portrait of the mayor. Making a portrait of the mayor of Groningen, which is both exhibited and has a chance to be selected for the portrait gallery of mayors in the City Hall, created a healthy tension among the students. The mayor's portraits of various master's students were on display during the farewell reception of mayor Den Oudsten in the Groninger Forum, but it was ultimately the painting by Adriaan de Wolf that was purchased for the City Hall.

Adriaan de Wolf works in Amsterdam. He likes to paint portraits, people and figures. Within that area he tries to find the vulnerability, and from there also the strength, in what he puts on the canvas. He reasons, if you go back to the core of something, you arrive at a vulnerable point. If you are able to portray that well on the canvas, he has the feeling that you can also show strength or beauty from that vulnerability. His works often portray a stillness, with an emotion behind it that may not always be on the surface.

Facts & Figures.

• Year of creation
  2019

• Dimensions (in cm)
  84x63

• Collection
  Town Hall Collection

• Technic
  Oil paint on board