ALBERT CAREL WILLINK (1900-1983) The Reclining Zebra, 1959 Large oil on canvas, signed and dated upper left. Dimensions: 68 x 84 cm Provenance : - Artist's studio - Thyssen Bornemisza Collection - Monaco private collection, acquired in 1978 from the previous owner. Accompanied by a copy of the certificate Carel Willink, a Dutch painter born in Amsterdam, is considered the most important exponent of magic realism, a style of painting that uses light, color, form and depth to create a strange atmosphere, where elements perceived as magical, supernatural or simply irrational emerge in a realistic environment. His choice of subjects is equally characteristic: his wives are represented on numerous occasions, 11 times for Wilma for example, and Sylvia served as a model for most of his uses of female nudes. There are also 16 paintings in which animals are the main characters, all in a setting that is strange and unusual for them. In 19 other paintings, the modern world, science and technology are depicted in opposition or confrontation with the ancient world.in his compositions, Willink combines technical perfection, photo-realism and extreme attention to detail, to depict mysterious and sometimes disturbing situations. He also worked extensively as a portrait painter, displaying the same technical mastery.