Jan Van Rijn - Fine artist & Sculptor

In this post I would like to present you with some more graphically explicit works of erotica.

Copyright by Jan Van Rijn

It has been said by some that the works of art by Van Rijn are depictions of women who are clearly, "provocative, submissive and abased" and that the faces of Van Rijn´s women, "...are sexy and expressive but the poses reveal way too much..".
What do you think?

Copyright by Jan Van Rijn

Copyright by Jan Van Rijn

Copyright by Jan Van Rijn

I believe that the comment about submissiveness and abasement is misplaced. I find these women quite powerful almost controlling and with a sexual energy radiating out of every pencilled line.
As a woman it seems obvious to me that Van Rijn adores women and the female form. This is clearly reflected in his incredibly beautiful rendered line of her form and private parts and it brings forth an aesthetic oozing explicit pleasure.
And that brings me onto the second comment about the poses revealing too much.

Well, there are all sorts of things you could say about someone not wanting to "see too much". The bottom line is that what is seen as stimulating and erotic to one person is way too much and pornographic to another. In other words, it is an individual judgement whether or not something is boring, stimulating or too explicit. However, that does not automatically give one the right to call it pornographic if one finds it too explicit. The distinction between pornography and fine art is one of the topics I deal with more in-depth in my talks on erotic art.


Looking at Van Rijn´s work in purely visual terms there is no getting round the anal fascination.
However, I would say that even if you do not normally find yourself aroused by the thought of anal sex, Van Rijn certainly makes it a secret pleasure to gaze upon that private part, which most of us normally never see or indeed want to see in its natural function.

Have you ever seen a big bum look more beautiful? Copyright by Jan Van Rijn

An important compositional element in Van Rijn´s work is his extraordinary use of perspective. It keeps the viewer captivated and spellbound precisely because it adds a further artistic layer to the piece of art.

What a fantastic piece of erotica. Must be every foot fetishist's dream!

Copyright by Jan Van Rijn

Another important signature feature of Van Rijn´s art is the fine layering of lines used in the hair of his models. These lines, resembling the leaves of plants, make for a very organic plant-like feel. In a very subtle way this connects and places the erotic in the natural world, indirectly telling us that "it is okay and natural to have sex".

Look at those long flowing strands ...

Copyright by Jan Van Rijn

About the artist and his work processes.
As the name indicates Van Rijn is a Dutch artist who creates his works of art by drawing on paper. He then, in his own words, uses the drawing like a printing plate, digitally enhancing the drawing in order to create the finished piece of art.
Once a work is finished he makes it available in limited editions of 25 (signed and numbered of course).

Van Rijn does not sell his original pencil drawings, perhaps because he considers them 'unfinished' and in his own words 'delicate and fragile'. However, he does occassionally agree to exhibit them, so if you are in or near Holland you may be lucky enough to get to see them on show.

For most art collectors it is very important to make a distinction between an original and a reproduction (or a print).
That naturally takes us into the realm of photography and to the age old discussion of whether or not the genre of photography belongs to the arts and whether or not photos are valid pieces of art because you can make an infinite number of copies. For further info and a more indepth discussion on this topic see Walter Benjamin's paper from 1936, ´Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction'.
Likewise it could be argued that an artist using digital means to enhance or finish a piece of art is also capable of infinite reproduction.

That of course is why any artist with respect for him or herself, limits the number of editions available of their print, otherwise it can very easily just become a glorified poster or what is called an open edition print. Not that there is anything wrong with open edition prints.
Collectors vary with different needs and some only want originals whilst others are happy with limited edition or even open edition prints. Most people buy art for the enjoyment of the image/object, but some also collect with investment purposes in mind. For the latter category of people nothing less than an original or a very limited edition print (if it is a famous artist) will do. The uniqueness of a piece of 'original' art and the fact that there is only one of this particular art object in the world means a whole lot. These are perhaps the type of people who would not be looking at Van Rijn´s work ... but they would be missing out.

To see more of Van Rijn´s work visit his homepage here.

Copyright by Jan Van Rijn