Edwin IJpeij

About Artist:

Edwin IJpeij (b. 1969) is a contemporary Dutch painter and artist-inventor based near Maastricht. His work explores how human dignity, intimacy and the sacred can be encountered through the presence of the living body.

For IJpeij, a portrait begins before the first photograph, drawing or brushstroke. It begins in a meeting: through conversation, attention and the gradual emergence of trust. Rather than treating the human figure as an object of observation or desire, he seeks to portray the individual as a living presence—vulnerable, self-possessed and irreducibly human.

This approach places the human encounter at the centre of his practice, where the act of seeing becomes inseparable from the act of meeting. His work reflects on how presence itself can be translated into image, without reducing the subject to representation alone.

Drawing on his background in chemistry, IJpeij combines historical painting methods with his own material research. His paintings are constructed through carefully prepared grounds, monochromatic underpainting and multiple layers of tempera and oil. The resulting surfaces possess a quiet luminosity and physical depth, informed by the work of the Old Masters without becoming historical reconstruction.

IJpeij was a finalist in the Dutch national television series De Nieuwe Vermeer. His painting The Three Marys at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was presented at the Vrijheidsmuseum in the Netherlands. His work has been exhibited internationally and is held in private collections across Europe. He is represented by Espace Art Gallery in Brussels and Galerie ArtPéro in Belgium.

About Artwork:

This artwork is part of Edwin's Série Seinsuelle. 

Seinsuelle is a portemanteau of "seins" and "elle", which means bossom and she respectively. This painting is the start of an unique collection about the power of feminine shapes. The paintings are characterised by close-ups of the feminine body showing their natural pure beauty.

The black, white and red colour theme is consciously chosen to symbolise the power of sensuality with which every woman can play her game of temptation and seduction. Also aesthetically, the colour combination works pleasant, sensual and provides it with a contemporary feel.

In this painting, the model is placed in the centre of confidence and sensuality. She has her hands on the top of her legs with a posture of strong self-confidence. 

The painting is made with egg tempera and oilpaint on quarterly sawn oak and framed in a on the painting tailored handmade frame from the famous Atelier of Gregor's Lijsten (NL, Spankeren)