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Bert Hermans
"It ain't over..."
Oil on canvas
100 x 70 cm

The title of this painting refers to the English expression "It ain't over until the fat lady sings". This English proverb means that it is not over until it is actually over. You use this expression when a situation is nearing its end. In this case, it refers to the corona crisis.
Various references to this can be found in the painting, such as the warning signs for COVID-19, bottom left and right. Some references to the corona crisis can also be found in the windows. In the two windows at the top left of the entrance someone rings the alarm and in the two windows in the middle above the entrance a lady is vaccinated.
The painting shows two opera singers, both referring to the title of the painting. One singer in the middle of the entrance path and the other in a window at the top right of the entrance.
In the original version of the proverb the opera is still mentioned: "The opera ain't over till the fat lady sings". It is assumed that this was referring to the opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen by Richard Wagner. The cycle consists of four operas with a total of 19 hours of music. At the end of the fourth evening, the time has finally come for Brünhilde to start on her last aria. The ladies, who sang the role of Brünhilde, were generally not particularly slim. The proverbial opera singer as a fat lady was born with this. In other words, when the fat lady starts singing - even though she has been doing so continuously for the past few hours - then it is really over.

Far right in the niche is a statue of the Docker as a monument of resistance, in this case in the fight against the virus.

The interior of the painting is taken from the Steigerkerk in Rotterdam. Bert was here during a city walk "Reconstruction" in Rotterdam on August 25, 2020.
The 1960 reconstruction monument was designed by Chris Knol van Kraaijvanger Architecten and has been a national monument since 2013.

The most important work of art in the church is the large glass-in-concrete wall on the entrance side by Berend Hendriks. The window is actually eight meters wide and six meters high and was only installed four years after it was opened. The window depicts the story from the Bible book of Exodus. God instructs Moses to lead the Israelites to free themselves from the slave house in Egypt. They are headed for the Promised Land and God is going before them. The heavenly colors of blue and red accompany them.
In the painting, the persons mentioned are free from the corona virus.