Anna Maria (Ans) Wortel (Alkmaar 1929-1996 Hilvarenbeek) was a Dutch visual artist, poet and writer. She mainly made gouaches and oil paintings. She was self-taught and her work is strongly autobiographical. Her experiences as a girl, woman, mother and artist were her inspiration. Her – often intense – life experiences as a woman, mother and artist were an inexhaustible source of inspiration. It was mainly feelings such as love, security, dreams, fears, the growth of the child into adulthood, mother-child relationships that she managed to portray in a striking, very physical way.
Her work continued to vary until the late 1950s. It exhibits characteristics of and is inspired by works by artists as diverse as Katsushika Hokusai, Willem de Kooning, Paul Klee, Marc Chagall, Paul Gauguin, Max Ernst, Jackson Pollock, Pablo Picasso, Wifredo Lam and Karel Appel. In the late 1950s this resulted in a completely unique style that she sometimes called 'me' because she did not want to be pigeonholed into a corner by 'experts'.
Since the 1960s, Ans Wortel has occupied a unique place in post-war painting. She started to become known for her work in the early 1960s. In 1963 there was an exhibition of her work in the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and in Museum Van Bommel Van Dam in Venlo. Ans Wortel also won the prestigious 1st prize at the Biennale de la Jeunesse in Paris in 1963. The Rijksmuseum purchased her work.
Her abstract, new, figurative art often contains naked woman, man and child beings that are easily recognizable, but distorted. The human figures are together, looking for each other, embracing or repelling each other. Hands, eyes and face are important motifs in her work. The figures exist in undefined spaces, which sometimes take the form of an almost surreal landscape. The moon and the contours of the earth often appear in her work. The work is usually accompanied by handwritten titles or texts of a poetic nature.
She lived anti-squat for 20 years in 'Huize Kranenburgh' near Bergen and became famous for that. As radical and uncompromising as her lifestyle was, her way of painting is also as original and recognizable. She remained true to her own credo. It is therefore not surprising that her work has essentially not changed over the years - unless it is the intensity of her colors.
Her work continued to vary until the late 1950s. It exhibits characteristics of and is inspired by works by artists as diverse as Katsushika Hokusai, Willem de Kooning, Paul Klee, Marc Chagall, Paul Gauguin, Max Ernst, Jackson Pollock, Pablo Picasso, Wifredo Lam and Karel Appel. In the late 1950s this resulted in a completely unique style that she sometimes called 'me' because she did not want to be pigeonholed into a corner by 'experts'.
Since the 1960s, Ans Wortel has occupied a unique place in post-war painting. She started to become known for her work in the early 1960s. In 1963 there was an exhibition of her work in the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and in Museum Van Bommel Van Dam in Venlo. Ans Wortel also won the prestigious 1st prize at the Biennale de la Jeunesse in Paris in 1963. The Rijksmuseum purchased her work.
Her abstract, new, figurative art often contains naked woman, man and child beings that are easily recognizable, but distorted. The human figures are together, looking for each other, embracing or repelling each other. Hands, eyes and face are important motifs in her work. The figures exist in undefined spaces, which sometimes take the form of an almost surreal landscape. The moon and the contours of the earth often appear in her work. The work is usually accompanied by handwritten titles or texts of a poetic nature.
She lived anti-squat for 20 years in 'Huize Kranenburgh' near Bergen and became famous for that. As radical and uncompromising as her lifestyle was, her way of painting is also as original and recognizable. She remained true to her own credo. It is therefore not surprising that her work has essentially not changed over the years - unless it is the intensity of her colors.
