The Romanesque church in Rolduc is the only Limburg church in Helmantel's oeuvre. That he painted this abbey church is not surprising. According to Henk, medieval buildings possess a special balance in their proportions: white-plastered walls and not too many windows. The light filtering through a limited number of windows creates intimacy; the light is present only locally. “In this way, an atmosphere was created that has actually never been equaled since. As a painter, I find it incredibly fascinating to respond to that, to do something with it. Actually, as a painter, I want to add very little to make it a captivating painting. I want to evoke the visual experience of that space again on the flat surface.”
