Tableaux with tropical plants and animals ( Tableaus met tropische voorstellingen - 7 copies)
Anno Smith
About this artwork.
The tableaux with tropical plants and animals refer to the Netherlands' colonial past.
In the post-war period, ceramist Anno Smith made many hundreds of porch and facade decorations for the city of Groningen, intended for residential complexes, schools, shops and factories, among other things. It is for good reason that ceramics connoisseurs call Anno Smith a master of ornamentation.
Smith mainly depicted everyday objects and scenes: fish, flowers, playing children and working craftspeople. Due to the uniformity of the post-war architectural style, each portico and building was given its own identity. Recognisability therefore does not happen to be an important feature of Smith's work. His clients also wanted cheerful performances that had to be understandable for the residents.
Location.
Surinamestraat 1-23 (schildpad), Surinamestraat 25-47 (flamingo), Surinamestraat 49-71 (ananas), Surinamestraat 73-95 (tropische vis), Surinamestraat 97-119 (papegaai), Surinamestraat 121-143 (pijlstaartrog), Surinamestraat 145-167 (cactus)
Facts & Figures.
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Design
Anno Smith -
District
Korrewegwijk & De Hoogte -
Art type
Art in / on a building, Tableau -
Material
Glazed terracotta