Art Story

In "Geluidloze tuin", Roger Raveel invites the viewer into a hushed, almost meditative space. The garden, a recurring motif in his oeuvre, is not presented here as a place of growth and sound, but as a bounded world filled with silence and reflection. The composition is carefully structured, with white areas reminiscent of walls and minimal visual movement. Striking is the way the tree appears to break apart into two distinct elements - a green branching structure and a separate, trunk-like form - fragmenting the familiar image and turning it into a mental evocation. Within this purified visual language, a bold dividing line also plays a central role. It cuts through the picture plane abruptly, acting as a threshold between seeing and thinking, between the everyday and the inner world. Thus, the garden transcends the purely figurative and becomes a mental space, detached from time and place. From his home environment in Machelen-aan-de-Leie, Raveel is not depicting the visible world, but rather imagining a place where silence itself speaks. In this "Geluidloze tuin", everything slows down; what remains is space for attentiveness, presence, and pure observation. "Geluidloze tuin" was featured in various retrospective exhibitions, including at the Roger Raveel Museum, and is frequently cited in literature as an example of Raveel's "silent modernity."