Madooka, XXIV 4, 2024

Looking at Casper Faasen’s work is like looking through the mist of time. The artist, who has a studio in Leiden, draws inspiration from the classical paintings he encountered as a child in the Netherlands. In addition, he develops his very own pictorial language through the use of craquelé. Casper Faassen grew up in Leiden, where he was influenced by the Old Dutch Masters: Gerrit Dou, Jan Steen, and Rembrandt van Rijn. Casper Faassen studied at the University of Amsterdam, where he continued to pursue his artistic ambitions.

A hallmark of Faassen’s work is his innovative use of materials, techniques, and disciplines. In addition to painting and graphic art, Faassen devotes much of his time to the medium of photography. It is in his photographic work that he depicts classic 17th-century themes such as cityscapes, vanitas paintings, and flower arrangements. By combining photography with layers of paint, Faassen could be described as either a “photographing painter” or a “painting photographer.”

Casper Faassen was named Talent of the Year in the Dutch national Artist of the Year competition in 2007. In 2019, he won the ALPA Award at Photo Basel. His work is held in both private and public collections, including Museum de Lakenhal (Leiden), the Frans Hals Museum (Haarlem), the Royal Library (The Hague), and the Haagsch Historisch Museum (The Hague).