Landscapes and nature

Manta Island

Kees van Willigen · 1915–1990

Date

1982

Medium

Oil painting

The island, immobile by definition, gives the impression of swimming: its shape recalls that of a manta ray, an effect accentuated by the foam along the coves. The composition contains only the horizon, the sky and four birds.

The bird closest to the viewer is visible only through two fragments of a single wing and seems to leave the frame. Breaking the limits of the frame is a recurring concern in Kees van Willigen’s work.