Dutch Soldier

Multicolored terracotta, metal tacks, earring

2015-2016

Available

The full title of this piece is Soldier of the Dutch Waterline. It is one of the oldest pieces in the show, dating from 2015.  Tulis had recently fallen in love with the Dutch landscape and begun dividing time between NYC and the Netherlands. The artist had spent the previous year drawing armor in the Metropolitan Museum of NY. Her interest for both defensive forms from classical through Neoclassical era, as well as the armor in the insect realm, became a true obsession.

Tulis’ idea of a soldier in full armor decorated with landscapes appeared after learning the Dutch landscape was shaped over hundreds of years as a sort of defense system. The gentle forms of the dijks that she was becoming familiar with were themselves a sort of armor for the land - both against rising water and foot soldiers prior to the use of aerial warfare. 

The artist designed the armor, cutting each piece out of brown paper and carrying it with her into the landscape, where she would find a fitting scene and paint it plein air in ink and watercolor (These studies are available to view upon request). Later, she would take each study back to her studio and render the same scene into the clay using layers of multicolored clay, low relief and various marks.