Nude portraits may still hang in Purmerend town hall

The municipality of Purmerend does not have to remove the nude portraits by artist Jeroen Hermkens in the town hall on Purmersteenweg. The mayor and aldermen decided this tonight after a motion by Lijst Schaaij, PVV and Purmerend Municipal Interests. It is not yet clear at the moment whether the works will continue tomorrow. The paintings would rather hang until December 6.

That reports RTV Purmerend. The council wanted actually take away the nude portraits after complaints were made about the works. Artist Jeroen Hermkens was furious and previously told NH Radio that he finds it astonishing. “We have lost all the freedoms we fought for.” He painted fourteen women for the project.

Also one of the models, Anneke Goede, did not have a good word about the planned action to remove the works. She regrets that the mayor is still standing up for the women. According to the model, the removal of the paintings has to do with a new form of prudishness in people. “Social media and the #Metoo movements have made us more cautious. It’s a sign of the times we’re living in right now.”

Majority

A majority of the parties agreed with the motion tonight. In a response, alderman Eveline Tijmstra tells RTV Purmerend that she will not have the works of art removed after all. “We are going to call the initiator and artist. If they still want to leave it hanging, then it is possible.”

Anneke will inform RTV Purmerend tonight that she wants to hang the works. She was actually going to go to the town hall with the artist tomorrow to pick up the portraits. Whether they will stick around until December 6 is not yet clear.

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