Relief of nudes ( Reliëf van naaktfiguren)

About this artwork.

Please note: due to redevelopment of the area, this relief has been removed from the building and stored in the Nijestee warehouse. It is possible that the piece will return to the new primary school that will be built at this location.
 
A limestone relief adorns the main entrance of the Treslinghuis community centre. Roughly depicted male and female nude figures with – obscure – objects in their hands seem to be swimming towards each other. The symbolism of the image is unclear: there may be a distant connection with the former function of the Tresling House, which in the 1930s was used to house and care for TB patients among other things.

The building was built in 1913-1915 as a nursing home for the poor. It was named after Tjalling Tresling, a lawyer from Groningen who devoted himself to the underprivileged in society in the first half of the 19th century, and was given its present name in 1959. Nowadays, due to various extensions and renovations, little of the original house remains.
 
The sculptor and master craftsman Mattheus Meesters, born in Haren in 1908, received lessons at the M.T.S. school in Groningen at the Department of Applied Arts and Crafts. The famous Groningen artist Willem Valk was his teacher there. In addition to facade decorations, Meesters created spatial works, which can be found in various places in the city of Groningen. One of his most famous works is a statue in the Noorderplantsoen, which the artist referred to as Untitled, but which became known as Sun-worshipper (Zonaanbidster).

Facts & Figures.

• Design
  Mattheus Meesters

• District
  Oosterparkwijk

• Year of creation
  1958

• Art type
  Relief, Art in / on a building

• Material
  Natural stone

• Dimensions
  h 0,52 x b 5,40 m