As of today, the sixth and largest Monet mural to date is housed in the Halstraat in Zaandam. After a month of hard work and the rain as a regular spoilsport, artist Piotr Baczinsky (alias BC Esobe) is happy with the result. Together with friend Maciej Gadek, he aims to create 25 murals in the spirit of Monet. Exactly the number of paintings that the French painter produced in 1871 during his three-month stay in Zaandam.
The mural in Halstraat fits very well there, says local resident Saskia Stad. “The houses used to be crisscrossed here in the neighborhood and you can see that a bit in the painting.” With each new Monet on the wall, Piotr adds his own details. These include, among others. two ringneck parakeets, a black cat and a woman in the doorway. “No, it’s not someone who actually exists,” he says with a laugh, “everyone can make up their own mind about who she is.”
Sixth Monet mural in Zaandam – NH News
Zaanse mayonnaise
There is also a jar of Zaanse mayonnaise on the painting. “That’s a reference to the old days,” says Piotr, “here, I understand, they once started making it.” Frits Schuster of the Monet Foundation in Zaandam brought a small gift for the Polish painters. It is a matchbox that Frits made, showing Piotr at work on the fifth mural in the Jonge Arnoldusstraat. The artists are very happy with it. Frits says that walls have already been found for numbers 7 and 8. “Now we still have the money, but we have already found entrepreneurs willing to contribute.” Every Monet on the wall costs thousands of euros in paint anyway. The aim is to reach ten before the summer. And ultimately, the foundation wants a walking route along all 25.
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