With Helmantel, the temptation is great not so much to compare him with his contemporary fellow artists, but rather with seventeenth-century painters such as Vermeer, Saenredam, Dou, and Van Mieris. Helmantel would be the last to deny this and shows himself to be a great admirer of the Dutch Masters.
“What I take from Vermeer into my paintings is above all the harmony, the tranquility, and the balance that emanate from them, giving you the feeling of 'this is how it should be,' knowing that it could also be entirely different. The softness of the contours is also a very important point for Vermeer. The vibrancy of the transitions.”
And precisely those elements can be clearly found in the work *Bronze Objects*. Not Rembrandt's dramatic lighting on a single element, but Vermeer's diffused light, yet very concentrated on various spots.
Henk enjoys painting bronze. According to him, the 'skin' of a bronze object is intriguing. When painted well, it seems as if the object is within reach. The objects in the painting can be found in the Helmantel Museum. And now, painted in such a tangible way, the owner has, as it were, a piece of the museum in their home.
