Bastiaan Mol

Your work focuses strongly on the male figure. What led you to dedicate your practice exclusively to this subject?

I have been drawing and painting all of my life as far back as I can remember. While other children played outside, I was always busy with my drawings inside.

Already as a young child I knew I liked boys and not in the same way as girls. But of course at that time it wasn`t sexual at all. I talk about sex, as the question asks for the explanation of why my main subject in my art today is the male figure and why I paint the men the way as I do. The subjects in my paintings changed drastically over the years, from child, to the man of 71 years that I am now. Looking back now, you can notice waves of different subjects in stages of my age and the interests I focussed on at those times. As a child they were often fairytales and I was always drawing and painting purely from my fantasy. I think the vision of the story of Cinderella inspired me the most, seeing her in my fantasy with her beautiful ballroom gown descending from the stairs in a hurry, loosing her glass slipper.

I must have painted that scene a hundred times, just as I painted the witch that was the evil stepmother of Snowwhite. I have always LOVED witches, trolls vampires and all sorts of monsters. And one of the next stages in my art would be just that subject. Later on when I got older it would be fashion. I wanted to become an illustrator of fashion. When I actually went to get my art education I wanted to be educated to be a costume designer for stages, and theatre. The teacher that tought that subject told me there would be no work at all in that direction,once finished after 4 years. So I chose illustration design. Produce art, not for on the walls persé, but to be used for recordcovers, posters, bookcovers, etc. So thats what I did at the Academy of Arts in Antwerp Belgium (from 1986-1991, I already wasnt a young man anymore). As the times werent right at the moment, there werent jobs for me as a starter at that time, so I always had other jobs next to my painting. I already went full on as a gay man and to get some money while studying at the academy of arts, I worked as a discjocky in weekends in a gay dancecafé in Antwerp. The oldest gaycafé of Antwerp actually and today all of the interior of that venue now is part of the collection of the MAS museum there.

As men became increasingly more important in my live I also started to paint them. Of course at the academy we always had to sketch and paint nudes three times a week. My very first solo exhibition was in the Antwerp COC, a social club for gaypeople. And as I wanted to sell, I picked all of the subjects that could be of interest by eventual buyers there. Leatherguys, but also romantic drawings inspired by films such as Viscontis Death in Venice, and even a nude transwoman with a penis. Years later, subjects would be stars from the golden age of Hollywoods silent movies and divas from the world of music, such as Eartha Kitt, Edith Piaf, Josephine Baker, Zarah Leander, Theda Bara, Hildegard Knef, Italian singer Milva, to name just a few. I would buy there records,see their films,read their biographies and became inspired. When Im inspired, I also am totally inspired and passionate. It is always ONE subject at a time for me. I find it hard to focus on more than one subject. Much later, I discovered painting animals, specifically birds – and I painted a LOT of them through the years. Again later I discovered the Portuguese music form of the FADO. I became involved to that music, and read books about the origines, etc. I eventually collected a very large collection of fado CDs, went a lot to hear the fadosingers especially in Lisbon, Portugal. Ant I became friends with many of them, discussing the fado, its lyrics and melodies. Eventually I started to paint some of my friends fadosingers. And that became the start of 10 years of painting a total of 66 painted portraits of socalled ‘FADISTAS’ (from 2013-2024). Most of these portraits went to Portugal exept for a few that I still keep, but three of them are now part of the main exhibition in a small fadomuseum in Lisbon, the Associação Alfredo Marceneiro, of which I was made a member of honor. I closed that subject in 2024 and dont paint any fadosingers anymore.

After that subject was done I totally went to paint the sensual men that I am now known for. Many of my paintings of sensual men went to all corners of the world, mostly to private collections, in USA, but also Belgium, France, Bulgaria and even Bangkok. Private collectors became very important to buying my art of men. I am aware the collectors will often be gay men and obviously they see something they like and desire and want to have in their homes. I have always painted handsome men, but not in the way I do in the last 10 years or so. As ever, when I have a subject for my art, I am extremly passionate about totally getting involved in it. Only a year ago I decided for myself that I will dedicate the rest of my life – God knows how long I will still have for that at my age – to painting the sensual male figure.

All of my life I felt the artworld, but also social world tried to keep me from painting that subject. And as times went more prudish, also in art, to me I felt it important to raise my voice and paint what the world can not see, often due to religion groups. I feel it strongly as a way to shut the mouths of groups of artists and I won`t have it.

Bastiaan Mol | Garçon Adidas | 2020

You often depict men in vulnerable, sensual, or intimate moments. What emotions or ideas are you trying to convey through these portrayals?

I don`t think I work in a different way in my painting than a heterosexual man is painting his beautiful women or girls.

I see a desirable boy of man and I paint him the way I like it and also the way I think other people would find beautiful.

I get my models from the street, or the gym, or the café, or via social media.I just ask them if they want to pose. They don`t need to be GAY at all. I want to use their looks for my paintings. They are not subjects of love interest for me. I am quite serious in that matter.

Of course it is all in MY mind. Years and years it were only women that were painted as the subject for artists. And WHY? Probably they, the artists, were heterosexual and just liked painting girs or women they found attractive as a subject. So as for me, there isn`t much of a difference, just that I paint men instead of women. And of course, as the world is used for many centuries in seeing mostly beautiful women in the arts, graceful, serene, as godesses or nymphs, that subject became more and more natural to see in the arts. Heterosexual men have difficulties in watching other men in paintings or sculptures in a sexual or sensual way. And that fact works all over the world. Men are tought to be macho. Not vulnarable, but super heros. They must like sports and be good in it and they must be attractive – and attracted – to women. They should not cry or feel lonely and when they ARE, they definately should not show it to others.

But the world changed. There is not just MEN or WOMEN. More and more the world becomes concious that there are also women that were born in male bodies and vice versa. And there also is a whole variety of people in between male and female, seeing themselves in other ways than ‘just’ a man or ’just ’a woman. I very much like to paint men in other ways than what the bible (or the koran, or other religions) wants to teach the world. Men don`t need to be depicted as a hero, They also can be soft, romantic, showing their feelings. And can also even be painted in a erotic way, as desirable beings. Not overly strong, but inviting,sweet or sensual.

Bastiaan Mol | Model David | 2026

How has your classical training at the Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp influenced your current visual language?

As sayed before, at the academy you get sketching nudes 3 times a week as a trainting. In my case, my teacher was a Jewish male. But not orthodox, he was a free spirit. But in my second year hw married a Jewish orthodox American woman and he became inside and outside orthodox jew himself too. Because of his religion he was not allowed in seeing other women in the nude, other than his own wife. From that moment on, we only got male models to sketch in the nude. Or if there wasn`t a model availble we would sketch other students. Being Dutch, Netherlands were a tiny bit less classical in teaching art as it was in Belgium. But as I got my study in Belgium, what I was tought was what I actually needed to become a illustrator. I always liked the old illustrators from around 1900-1920 and to work with the materials they worked with. And I still do. Computerized art is not for me and also A.I. is not for me. I will never go into a discussion about that, as it is what I feel and not how others will feel about that subject. I like to work in a organic way, with real materials, not digital.

Many of your paintings are based on live models. How does working from life shape your artistic process compared to working from photographs?

That I find a very good question. As I use both ways. I need the live models for my inspiration and their vibes live give me more than a photo alone will do. Models vome and pose for me, I put them myself in various poses, give them clothing to put on, or a hat, or cap, or even a helm or a gasmask sometimes, just how I would see their type and also to get more variety in it. I change the lightings while they pose, I put on certain music I use for the occasion and create an atmosphere which I find utterly important in order to get the right vibes to work on.BUT: I also take photos of the model. As a referrence to painting the right shadows, the right colours, etc. Later I change much while I am painting. The model poses against a black, or a white background, but while painting I create other backgrounds, that come into my mind while busy painting. This will come in a spontaneous way, I dont think much or dont have it already in my mind before starting the painting. The only thing that is already in my mind, are the colours that I will probably use. When I see the model, standing beford me, immediately I get colours, surrounding them, in my mind. Those will probably the colours that I will use, while painting. So, while I do also use photographs, nothing is certain in what I will be using of them. And I could never go, without the live model himself and his personality that comes over to me,as that is also what I can recall afterwards, while painting.

Bastiaan Mol | Model Felix with a cigaret | 2025

You have spoken about censorship and the difficulty of exhibiting nude art. Have you personally experienced restrictions, and how do they affect your practice?

Yes, I have had difficulties all of my life in showing what I would have liked to show of my paintings. 

I always felt it never was a problem when it was about female nudity. But a full male frontal nude always was a big problem. I was only able to show one or two of my males, when the largest part of my work would be females, portraits and animals. I have never felt WHY this would or should be. Especially when it isnt about a painting in which you dont see a sex act, but just a simple human being without his clothes. And it is always only about the penis. Many venues that show art are venueas that are open to everyone. But laws here today become more and more specific in what you can show or can not show. Being 71 myself, I grew up in a time that became more and more open,also sexually. Everything should be possible and should not be secret or should be covered. You had the flowerpower movement and also in Holland everything became free. Women`s bras were openly burnt on the streets, to name something. And also the gays became more open and free. The netherlands became the first country where gay people were officially could marry. But after that, groups of people from other countries came to the Netherlands and other countries in Europe and they were much against all of that freedom. And also showed that. 

Today, as a result the world became more and more prudish in showing nudity. And I feel very much we are going big steps back in time and also in the arts.

For me today it is extremely difficult to show my paintings of male nudes and actually almost impossible as no artgalleries want to show that side of the art. What they say to me is: it is GAY art. We dont have costumers for that and they would not want to see this kind of art. I than think: HOW can you know if you dont show it in the first place? Women also like to see a sensual looking men, if the male public doesnt. And there is also a gay public. Or, dont galleries want a public that is gay and buy – what they call – GAY art ? As for now gay artists showing sensual men, need small spaces, often hidden in the back of gay venues, while the rest of the world dont get to see all of this art. On social media this kind of art always is blocked, neglected and oppressed by algorithems,secretly of even openly hidden. The artist himself even get punished for showing his art and gets blocked.It happened to me more than once and one time even for a duration of 2 months on social media. As a result artist must curate what they can or can not show there. That is not freedom of opinion or choice to me. I dont feel like a martir, but I sometimes get angry about it. As I feel it is an oppresion of artistic freedom in what an artist can show or is not alowed to show.

And, talking about my own art: it is quit innocent actually. Not that much of a difference to the naughty female pin-ups that were already painted in the 1950s and were to view everywhere, from magazines to billboards. So the world and certaintly the artgalleries need to change their view, and soon!

Bastiaan Mol | Model Joris | 2024

At this stage of your life and career, what continues to motivate you to paint every day?

Well, it is simply what I do. I created art all of my life from 3 years old up to now. It never bores me, I can express my feelings in it and never have a ‘artist`s block’.

I always know what to do and indeed I work every day on my paintings. Always one at the time, as that is the way I work. But as soon as one painting is nearly finished, I already abandon it in my head and my thoughts already are at the next painting. I never get tired of that. At my age, I can not tell how long I will have left to paint what I paint. And to me it is extremly important to show the world that there are also other subjects that needs to be seen OPENLY. Not hidden.

I sometimes think about a time when maybe my hands begin to tremble and it will get impossible to use the small,thin brushes I always use for details. To me that seems like a dark hole. I prefer to be optimistic in that and I mostly am, but sometimes reality makes other choices.

Bastiaan Mol | Morning Coffee | 2022

How do viewers typically react to your work? Do responses differ between countries or cultural contexts?

Some of the questions before, I answered and told how different groups can react to what they see in my art. It can also be quit personal how people react. And to me that is fine. I myself also dont like all art. In a artmuseum I often skip many paintings as I dont find them that interesting. Each his own ans tastes can and should be personal. I also like it when people see a painting I did and make up their own story to it. Often quite different from what I myself had in mind actually. I can find that amusing. I see things never that serious and I hardly can believe why some groups are making such a fuzz about a sheet of canvas or paper and some strokes of paint on it. Why does it make some people happy and other people so angry they would like to burn that piece of art? It obviously is not the painting itself, but the intention of the artist to that painting that gets opposite opinions. And thats how it should be. But trying to skip or hide parts of art that were created to be seen is certainly not the way. We live in a democracy and what the world is doing now to gay artists or to nudity in the arts is not democratic.

Why than is it neccesary to teach artstudents drawing and sktechin the nude body? Just to when their study is finished not to be able to show what they learned? 

That could never be intended that way.