Lancelot (Elysee) Samson

Lancelot Samson (1938), trained at the Academy of Visual Arts in The Hague, is an extremely progressive artist in his initial period. He is active on many fronts and works together with the composer Peter Schat and author Willem de Ridder in the theater experiment 'Mood Engineering Society' (1961). Later Samson achieves great success making classical portraits, including those of Queen Beatrix, Harry Mulisch and Pavarotti.

The sculptures 'The Ship' and 'Herons in reeds' stem from his initial period, in the mid-1960s. They are akin to the wire sculptures by the famous English sculptor Henry Moore. According to Moore, sculpture is generated between an endless number of lines supplementing and crossing each other, so that they encompass a surface. Samson elaborates these principles in his wire constructions by using very simple means. The emptiness between the rods suggests the volume and the balance of the lines allows the ship to 'sail'.

See also: Vubis database