Mural of sailor in Charlois by Daan Markus

On one of my ‘bicycle tours’ through the city I came across a big mural on an abandoned house on the Brielselaan in Charlois. It is made by Daan Markus and was commissioned by the city council.   

As you can see, it is a painting of an old sailor. In a way, the house becomes the sailor, or the sailor became the house. I’m not quite sure, but I leave that up to everyone’s own imagination. Anyway, the sailor found a home where he looks out over the Maashaven, so I guess he couldn’t have found himself a better spot…

I really like the details of the mural. For instance this little duck, flanked by the flags of Rotterdam and    Noord-Brabant. It makes me wonder… Noord-Brabant? Of course a lot of inhabitants of Brabant migrated to Rotterdam during the industrial revolution and a lot of them came to live in the part of Rotterdam that lies south of the river, but is this what the artist wants to tell us? I doubt it. My guess is that Markus is originally from Brabant and this is a subtle reference. It doesn’t say on his site (www.daanmarkus.nl) although he mentions there that he’s currently living in Rottterdam, which implies he has not  lived here all his life. Anyway, excuse me for rambling… Is this still interesting? Maybe not, but it prooves that a lot of thoughts can come from giving murals a closer look. They deserve it!