Looking at Caspers Faasen’s work is like looking through the mist of time. The artist, who has a studio in Leiden, draws inspiration from the classical painting he encountered as a child in the Netherlands. In addition, he develops his very own pictorial language with the application 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. Here he had the chance to paint daily and compiling an impressive œuvre at a young age.
Characteristic of Faassen’s works is his innovative utilization of material, 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 he depicts the classic 17th century themes such as cityscapes, Vanitas paintings and flower arrangements. By combining photography with painted layers, Faassen could be described as either a photographing painter or painting photographer. A look at Faassen’s œuvre as a whole reveals that such themes as transience, beauty, male and female splendour form the basis of his work.
Casper Faassen was awarded 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 acquired by both private and public collections such as Museum de Lakenhal (Leiden), Frans Hals Museum (Haarlem), the Royal Library (The Hague) and Haagsch Historisch Museum (The Hague).
