Artwork Data

Title

Voetbalkeeper

Artist

Peter Kortekaas

Year

1983

Material

Brons

Dimensions

h. 150 cm

Artwork Location

Address

Voorthuizenstraat, Den Haag

City district

Escamp

GPS data

52.065053011954, 4.2818206746258 View on map

Artwork Description

Text

Caught in the act' is a well-known English expression. In Dutch, it could be translated as 'caught in the moment of full action'. Anyone who sees Peter Kortekaas's sculpture 'Footballeeper' will immediately understand what is meant by this. The bronze figure represents a sportsman caught in the moment. He has the ball in his hands and is about to put it back into play. The action is frozen forever and immortalised in bronze.

The football goalie is typical of Kortekaas' direct style and working method. He always captures chickens, horses, hares, goats, camels, footballers and other (sports) people in full action. Dynamics and movement are the rule rather than the exception. This applies to the sculpture of the highly concentrated goalkeeper at the entrance to the football pitches of the sports complex on Voorthuizenstraat, and it also applies to the free plastics executed in bronze.

Kortekaas trained at the Royal Academy of Art in his native city of The Hague. He taught for some time at that same Academy and at the Free Academy in the same city. That his main subject was 'anatomy' will surprise no one. As a sculptor, he succeeds in getting the maximum expression out of the representation of the human body. But he also captures the specific physical characteristics of animals in bronze. Sometimes he tends towards a caricatural representation. He does this to emphasise certain aspects or character traits or to give a humorous or ironic twist to the image.

In Kortekaas' sculptures, the traces of modelling remain visible. The irregular surface of the bronze sculptures is the direct result of the dexterous kneading of the clay. This enhances the liveliness of the sculptures.

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