Mari Andriesse - Statue, Vrouwfiguur - 22.5 cm - parastone

Mari Andriessen's fame as a sculptor of large sculptures led to commissions for monuments in honor of notable compatriots, such as Cornelis Lely on theAfsluitdijk (bronze, 1953), Albert Plesman in The Hague (bronze, 1958) and Queen Wilhelmina in Utrecht and Amsterdam (Wilhelmina Gasthuis) (both: bronze, 1967). The central theme in his monumental work is the modern person who, not bound by an architectural context, but placed on a pedestal, stands in the open space. Characteristic are the powerful composition, the clear build-up in volumes and the simplification of detail, which has caused the emphasis to fall on the large form of the sculpture. The message, dramatically restrained and understandable to everyone, is achieved with purely plastic means.

Andriessen belonged to The Group of traditional figurative sculptors, who after World War II occupied an important place in Dutch art. One of his most famous works is The Dockworker on Amsterdam's Jonas Daniël Meijerplein in memory of the February Strike of 1941. Also the statue of Adriaan Roland Holst at the Bergense Ruïnekerk was created by Andriessen.

During his life Andriessen received many honors, including the Prize of the Foundation for Artists' Resistance 1942-1945. In 1977 he was offered a retrospective at the Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem. On this occasion his former pupil and bosom friend Theo Mulder spoke. After that exhibition people rightly spoke of 'our national sculptor'. Two years later, three days after his 82nd birthday, Andriessen died. On the day of his funeral, strangers laid a wreath at De Dokwerker in Amsterdam.

(source: Wikipedia)

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