2015 – up
For a solo expo Franciscus was asked to show a completely different side of himself. With ink on paper he made a series of ‘quick’ and direct drawings with Romanticism as the main source of inspiration (see Drawing). This was a big contrast from his paintings, as his paintings are built up in many layers and are therefore very time-consuming to make.
2010 – 2015
In these years Franciscus focused a lot on painted portraits. These portraits were strongly influenced by Flemish painter Hans Memling (Selighenstad 1430 – Bruges 1494). The surreal atmosphere of his famous portraits against meticulous landscapes intrigued him.
2002 – 2010
For a large retrospective in the Museum Catharijne Convent in Utrecht, Franciscus was asked to choose one of the paintings from the collection for a new work. This became the adaption of ‘De Doornenkroning’ by the Utrecht neo-caravaggist Dirk van Baburen. This resulted in a work called ‘Decoronation, an Allegory on Violence’ and has been included in the collection of the Centraal Museum in Utrecht in 2012 after years of touring.
Before 2002
During an internship in 1984/85 in Berlin, Franciscus found his love for old masters. At a time when wild expressionists and post-modernists were rampant, Franciscus deepened himself against all trends in classical painting techniques.