The world-famous French painter Monet is immortal in the Zaan region. In 1871 he painted no less than 25 works in three months. The Polish artists Maciej Gadek and Pjotr Bazynski are looking for blank walls to bring all those Monets to life. “I live in Zaandam and I love Monet,” says Maciej. “Pjotr and I want to make Zaandam more beautiful and colorful.” They are now working on the third Monet on the Rabbit Trail.
Because of the cold, Pjotr has to shake the spray cans vigorously before he can apply the typical Zaan green. In a crate of spray cans is a booklet: Monet in Zaandam, 1871. It is not consulted. Piotr sprays out of his head.
Willem Kuiper lives on the East side and has given up his long white wall on the Konijnenpad for a Monet. “I had seen those earlier murals. Beautiful, so I really wanted to. I myself had a say in which one it should be. It has become the green house on the Zaan, a little further on. I went there with the boys recently to have a look .” He is lyrical about the mural in which the green comes out beautifully when the sun shines on it.
financing
Before Pjotr and Maciej could get started, financing had to be arranged. The money was collected through ‘Voor jewijkie’. There are also two new murals in the pipeline. Els Bakker, chairman of the Monet Foundation, is wildly enthusiastic about the murals. “It’s beautiful. They came up with it themselves and we can only applaud that as a foundation.” The neighborhoods are getting better.
The foundation also tries to help with financing as much as possible. “We want a walking route along all 25 murals soon,” says Simone Ronchetti of the Monet Foundation. She has many contacts in the various Zaanse neighborhoods and tries to collect the necessary finances for the murals.
At housing association Parteon, which has an amount of money available for tenants to decide on, you can still vote for a ‘Monet on the wall’.
According to Maciej, there are still enough blank walls for a beautiful Monet. First finish this one on the Rabbit Path and then on your way to the fourth Monet.