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Belgian painter, born in Mortsel. He studied fine art in Brussels and Antwerp between 1976 and 1982 and then art history between 1982 and 1986. After finishing his studies, he gave up painting for film-making for two years. His subsequent work as a painter has been frequently interpreted in the light of a supposed crisis in the continuing relevance of and possibilities for painting. In that he often uses photography as a source, he has sometimes been compared to Gerhard *Richter. Yet his approach could hardly be more different. There is none of the meticulous mimicry of the photographic surface. The works are broadly painted in a way that permits Tuymans to be selective as to what is shown and concealed. He uses a pale tonality, sometimes close to monochrome.

Text source: A Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Art (Oxford University Press)


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