Golden Hair, Hidden Face

A figure whose face is completely obscured by cascading golden-brown hair, rendered with expressive linear strokes. Yellow rays emanate from behind the head, with pink flowers at the base, all set against a soft green ground.

Material

Mixed media on paper

Date

2011

Museum

Museum Het Valkhof
Golden Hair, Hidden Face — 2011 — Mixed media on paper — by Berend Strik

About the piece

Golden Hair, Hidden Face (2011) by Berend Strik addresses the motif of concealed beauty — the face hidden behind or beneath something that both frames it and prevents full view.

Golden hair has been a symbol of beauty, youth, and divine light across cultures — from Rapunzel's tower to the golden-haired Madonnas of Renaissance painting. Yet here the hair is present while the face is hidden — beauty that cannot be fully seen or known.

To hide the face is to refuse identification and communication. Strik's textile interventions — adding layers of tulle or velvet — literally create hidden faces within images. The title's pairing of "golden" (light, divine) with "hidden" (darkness, concealment) creates a productive tension.

Sources: Galerie Fons Welters

Golden Hair, Hidden Face — 2011 — Mixed media on paper — by Berend Strik
Golden Hair, Hidden Face
A figure whose face is completely obscured by cascading golden-brown hair, rendered with expressive linear strokes. Yellow rays emanate from behind the head, with pink flowers at the base, all set against a soft green ground.

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