I thought it was magical when I photographed the original Fabrica book form Vesalius from the Golden Age. With on the first page the handwriting of Nicolaes Tulp, the doctor we still know from Rembrandt's Anatomy Lesson. History then feels so close.
The great masters were storytellers. It was not their ego or their personality that mattered most, but their reality. They brought them to the canvas. And I bring him back to my reality.
Everything you see in these works has meaning. It's right down to the smallest detail. The photos are made in the highest resolution available. This allows you to admire it from up close and watch it from a distance. You determine the perspective.
Dive into the story and experience the pleasure of looking into the past. And the fun of hidden jokes and symbols (the audiotour helps you with that). Surrender, and see that there is always something to discover.
Julius Roymans
Whoa, stop. Take a good look! What do you see? These are photographic works of art that tell you about the life and work of famous painters. With extras from 2021, simply approached in the shopping street, or snatched from behind the checkout of the supermarket.
Through them you look four centuries into the past. And you experience: as people we have not changed fundamentally. Julius Rooymans made the fabulous compositions. A painstaking job, executed with an enormous eye for detail.
Artists are in a sense inventors. Always looking for better pigments, materials and techniques. We software makers are similar to them in that respect. We share a love for details and beauty. Because software is only really used properly if it is workable and attractive.
We stand on the shoulders of giants. As a company on that of our founders. And as a society to that of the great artists. The Shadow of the Master is an ode to all the people who inspire us. Also – and perhaps especially – the ordinary women and men you see in these photos. The people for whom we want to make work more fun and better during this time.
Bas van der Veldt and Arnold Mars
