Bert Hermans

kunstinzicht.nl

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Industrial and Cultural Heritage 2024-2025 Industrial and cultural heritage 2022-2023 Industrial and cultural heritage 2020-2021 Industrial and cultural heritage 2018-2019 Industrial and cultural heritage - 2018 Rotterdam Amsterdam, Haarlemmermeer and Lemmer The Hague Gouda Eindhoven Oisterwijk Veghel Ouderwater Leiden Groningen Doel (Belgium)Valencia (Spain); Bologna and Milan (Italy), Krk (Croatia) and Lisbo (Portugal)Sologne, France (Clémont and others)Germany (Zollverein Essen, Textile factory Bochholt and Völklinger Hütte)England (Hull, Oxford, Gloucester)Pipes Railway Zones Stations Architecture Landscapes Fayum portraits Trams Moonlight Sonata Beethoven Harbour and ships Meteorites Awards

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Bert Hermans — Hall Peace Palace
Oil on canvas
80 x 80 cm

Bert painted the hall of the Peace Palace in the spring of 2025. A time in which (the threat of) war and violence is clear in various parts of the world. Two main players in the war in Ukraine are depicted by Bert in the hall of the palace. That image of the talking world leaders, Trump and Zelensky, is derived from the conversation that both had during the funeral ceremony of Pope Francis on April 25, 2025 in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. However, Bert has situated the conversation in the more appropriate place of the hall of the Peace Palace in The Hague. The Peace Palace is the seat of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the International Court of Justice of the United Nations, the Hague Academy of International Law and the Peace Palace Library. The building is managed by the Carnegie Foundation. The building was officially opened on August 28, 1913. The symbolic value of the palace is not only significant for the Netherlands, but for the entire international community of countries involved, which is why the building bears the European Heritage Label. The ideal of peace is still promoted by the Carnegie Foundation, which has managed the building and its grounds since its establishment in 1904.
In addition to the land on which the building was built, the Netherlands donated seven stained glass windows. These were intended for the rotunda of the staircase. They depict relevant themes such as peace and justice. The designs are powerful by Adolf le Comte and executed by Johannes Lourens Scouteren of the Atelier van Gebrand Glas ‘t Prinsenhof in Delft. Herman Veldhuis applied the stained glass paintings. The natural stone staircase, a reduced copy of the staircase in the Paris Opera, is a gift from the Hague Municipal Council. The coat of arms of The Hague is placed at the foot of the staircase.