Herman de Vries (1931) - Atropa belladonna

Herman de Vries (1931)
Atropa belladonna, 1999
Plant (Atropa belladonna) and coloured pencil on paper.
140 × 100 cm.
Signed and dated on the front.

Provenance
Collection Rainer & Barabara Pliess, Sulzheim (acquired directly from the artist)

The plant is surrounded by its common names indicating its properties in various European languages.

Condition: Very good. The pressed plant has browned due to aging.
Framed in a natural-colored wooden border.

Work directory: Online catalogue, 1999, collages. (https://www.hermandevries.org/digital-catalogue/catalogue-1999.php)

Illustrated in: Mel Gooding, herman de vries. chance and change, Thames and Hudson, London 2006, page 13.

In addition to earth rubbings, pressed plants also serve as an important material for the artist. In this particular work, Herman de Vries used a branch of the black deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna), which, with its psychoactive effects, also alludes to his intense engagement with mind-altering plants. Surrounding the plant are common names of this plant in various languages, indicating its effects.

Biography
Herman de Vries was born in 1931 in Alkmaar, Netherlands. After training at the Reichsgartenbauschule in Hoorn, he initially worked as a landscape gardener before beginning his artistic career in 1953. His early works—white images, collages, and objects—are associated with the artist groups NUL and ZERO. In 1962, de Vries began developing the method of 'random-objectivation,' which he used to explore reality in his works. During the 1970s, de Vries increasingly turned to nature, working with natural materials such as pressed plants or earth. For the Skulptur Projekte Münster in 1997, he created a so-called sanctuarium, a piece of nature protected from human interference. Herman de Vries has lived in Eschenau, Lower Franconia, since 1970.

The transport is organized by a specialized art company, as shipping via DHL is no longer possible due to the weight and size. Additionally, the shipping costs are listed as very high, since an accurate cost estimate cannot be provided before the auction ends. We are willing to refund the difference for excessively high shipping costs.