Keystone with female figure ( Sluitsteen met vrouwenfiguur)

About this artwork.

Keystone with female figure is placed above the entrance of a former school, now an apartment and business complex. S.J. Bouma is the architect of the 1927 building, built in the Amsterdam School style. At the time, he was an architectural draftsman for the Municipal Works Department and a pioneer of the above-mentioned architectural style, which is characterised by the application of sculpture to the interior and exterior of a building. Until 1930, Willem Valk was awarded all decoration assignments for buildings designed by the Municipal Works Department. At that time he was the most artistic and skilled sculptor in the province of Groningen.
 
Valk rarely did sketches for a sculpture or a relief. He first modelled in full size and then carried out the design in stone. Usually he stayed very close to the original lump of stone, creating a stylised shape. Body shapes, faces, limbs and clothing are simply indicated by clefts, almost without detail. Limbs usually do not separate from the body. 
 
Valk liked to work with stubborn materials, such as the hard stones granite and syenite, but he also made many sculptures in the much softer sandstone and limestone.
 
In 1921 Willem Valk came to Groningen, where he would teach sculpture at the Minerva Art Academy for 43 years. In addition to his teaching remit, he created numerous portraits, nudes and sculptures for buildings in Groningen. The latter earned him the unofficial title of city sculptor.

Facts & Figures.

• Design
  Willem Valk

• District
  Oosterparkwijk

• Year of creation
  1927

• Art type
  Art in / on a building, Facing brick

• Material
  Syenite

• Dimensions
  h 1,55 m