Mural with large graphic flower Blue

Dutch flower mural

A soaring goblet of flowers, an angel with wings, a sun pulsating with light? Whatever you see: This abstract mural from the house of Hohenberger will stimulate your living fantasy.

We have to confess: We were perplexed when we first came across the graphic works of Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita (1868-1944). At first it was the woodcuts that caught our attention. It was precisely the reduction to the essential, the high-contrast play between line, surface and empty space, that the artist mastered perfectly. His depictions of animals he observed in the Amsterdam zoo, which he realised with the ancient technique of the woodcut, are full of life, also wit and irony.

The son of Portuguese Jews, he was born in Amsterdam and had many talents. He designed decorative fabrics such as curtains, upholstery fabrics and tablecloths, taught as a teacher of arts and crafts and designed cover pictures for the architecture and art magazine Wendingen. Whether watercolour, painting, etching, lithography, applied design: Mesquita mastered all varieties of artistic representation. Yet in his youth he was still rejected at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts in Amsterdam - for "lack of talent".

The abstract design of the stylised flower (or an angel?) was created in 1905 and clearly shows Art Deco influences. Nevertheless, the Dutchman shows his very own signature in the elaboration of ornament and contrast.

Interaction of Line and Surface

The Gräflich Münster'sche Manufaktur has turned it into a decorative mural measuring 2.70 x 4.20 metres. Clear markings ensure the seamless transition between the 6 panels. The motif is a statement of modern 20th century design. And at the same time a bow to a great artist who is little known today.

"Mesquita was a loner whose work was understood by few and who allowed himself to be influenced little," said M. C. Escher. He was a pupil of Mesquita, later also a friend. It is thanks to him that the artist's work was not completely forgotten. For Escher was able to save over 450 drawings and prints that the Nazis simply threw out onto the street from his friend's studio. Mesquita ended tragically: he was deported to Auschwitz in February 1944, where he was probably murdered immediately upon arrival.

With our blue and white mural, we want to commemorate the great artist and designer. The material used is healthy for living and impresses with its exceptionally high quality and durability.

Design rights: Wolfsee U.G, Mrs. Clarissa Dreier