Tjalf Sparnaay l The Bigger Picture

Fried eggs and flattened cans

At Museum JAN, Sparnaay - internationally known and acclaimed for his iconic oil paintings of fried eggs and flattened Coke cans - showcases the grandeur of small things. His hyper-realistic style enchants the viewer, who is instantly convinced of the power of his imagination. However, Sparnaay also shows that the photographic, objective approach to his subjects, definitely involves some kind of personal inspiration.

The beauty of everyday life

Sparnaay is the painter of ordinary, everyday things, things that you recognise because you are confronted with them on a daily basis but which, because of their isolation and position in a painting, are totally independent. Sparnaay was inspired by Rembrandt and Vermeer, by the magical realism of Carel Willink and American photographic realism, also known as hyper-realism, of artists like Ralph Goings, Charles Bell and Richard Estes. He made their style his own and developed what he himself called mega-realism, in which he depicts, isolates and (extremely) magnifies reality with more than photographic precision.

Appearances can be deceiving

Sparnaay regards himself as an illusionist. He is able to use paint on canvas to make the viewer believe he is seeing a hamburger and makes you believe in the perfection of the imperfect. In his opinion, beauty is the most important element, so he paints the meat sandwich at its very best, down to the smallest detail. To the extent that you think you can even smell and taste the hamburger and you need to get closer to the painting to convince yourself that what you see is not real.