Photo by Dik Nicolai
Hand-painted wallpaper, a Dutch Heritage The Dutch Golden Age is famous for its painters like Rembrandt, Vermeer and Rubens. But little is known about hand-painted wallpapers from that period. Painting landscapes on paper was a typical Dutch craft. Between the 17th and the 18th century hundreds of walls must have been covered with hand-painted wallpapers as a sign of luxury and wealth. The hand-painted wallpaper was a less expensive replacement for Tapestries (or Gobelins). Another advantage was that clients could order customized wall coverings and choose size, style and subject of the sceneries. Mass production During the early 18th century hand-painted wallpapers were made accessible for all. The Dutch had a dozen workplaces and factories producing hand-painted wallpaper on a massive scale. In the early 19th century the hand-painted wallpaper became less popular and factories had to close. This was mostly due to a diminished Dutch economy and the foreign industrial revolution, which introduced printed wallpaper. By the 20th century large town houses and estates where converted into offices, hospitals or schools. The (detachable) hand-painted wallpapers where considered impractical and were mostly sold to foreign buyers as works of art. The consequence is that only a few survived in the Netherlands. Gardens on Paper About two hundred years later, wallpaper artists Marcelo Gimenes and Jaap Snijder picked up this forgotten craft. “After exploring remaining wallpaper samples in museums we decided we did not want to copy the old samples but build upon a Dutch tradition of custom designed wallpaper sceneries”. We use modern materials like strong non-woven paper and high quality wall-paint”. “This requires a different way of working but it creates a great atmosphere with its bright colours and matte appearance”. By working together on one design they mix their styles into something new never losing track of its decorative purpose. The wallpaper should always fit in the room for which it was intended. Each design is completely handmade and is inspired by nature. With endless passion they paint flowers, plants and birds. Leaf by leaf creating beautiful gardens on paper...