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Art lovers share their thoughts on their favorite Melle artwork. This time, Shanou Basten (1995), head of presentations and fundraising at the Museum van Bommel van Dam in Venlo. As the curator at the time, she was involved in the retrospective exhibition “MELLE – Painter of a Different Reality,” which was on view in Venlo for six months starting in September 2022.

Shanou Basten: “I love surreal art that you can’t quite make sense of right away, like the work of Max Ernst. When I started working at the Museum van Bommel van Dam right after finishing my art history degree, I was introduced to Melle’s work in the storage area. I really liked that first encounter. The dreamlike quality of his work appealed to me.”

“Landscape Triptych (Creation Story with Evolution) is my favorite—a painting that fascinates me beyond measure. Even though it’s already seventy years old, the red—in all its shades—still leaps off the panels. And even if you look at this work for half an hour, you’ll always discover new things in it—the flowers, the little frogs, the shellfish, the fish, and the cityscape in the upper left corner. You’ll also ask yourself questions like: Am I underwater or in the air?”

“I’ve chosen this red triptych twice for a museum collection presentation. And in 2022, it was on display in our major retrospective exhibition of Melle’s work. At that time, we commissioned artist Peter-Paul Timmermans to create a sound art piece to accompany the triptych.”

“That retrospective drew a huge crowd and brought Melle a new audience—I’m glad about that. We received a lot of positive feedback, both from regular visitors and from young people who were amazed by the detail and sophistication of Melle’s painting technique. The enthusiasm of young people surprised me somewhat, because they tend to be remarkably prudish. The phalluses in Melle’s work elicited quite a few reactions. I discussed this with the students and explained the symbolism in Melle’s work and why he sometimes painted a phallus as a volcano."

“How I would have loved to have spoken with Melle. I read that he often sat by the water when he was young. I would have liked to talk with him about how that environment was reflected in his paintings.”