Everlasting Quality

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By now you surely know that we have a fondness for old wall paintings. This one is something special. In the period between 1914 and 1918 Jan Wingen, a Dutch decoration-painter discovered a procedure to make paint without using certain necessary materials that were unavailable during World War I. Among other things he used this paint for advertisements on walls. The paint proved very durable and many advertisements were still readable in the 1950’s. After that most paintings (and buildings) were destroyed. However, Jac Maurer sent us a photograph dating from -probably- 1928 (click) on which a decoration-painter is doing his job on a blind wall of a house in Valkenburg, not far from Maastricht. And to our surprise this house still exists. All advertisements are from companies based in Maastricht, the city where the decoration-company of Jan Wingen came from and where he built his reputation. Unfortunately there’s no signature. So, could it be Jan Wingen himself on the top of the scaffolding (click)? The advertisements are, although vague, still visible after eighty years, which surely says something about the quality of the paint (click). The paintings exist of two layers. The outer layer has almost disappeared; the first layer looks weather-worn, but can still be recognized (photos Rutger Booy and collection Jac Mauer). (RB)

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