Eskadrille by Octave Landuyt was brought into the mudel in June 2016 for the exhibition "The Biennial of Painting. Yoknapatawpha”. The painting is owned by the Flemish community, which has placed it on long-term loan in the mudel.
World War II left a lasting impression on Octave Landuyt, who was a young adolescent at the time. The city of Kortrijk, where the family was in exile, lived in constant fear of bombings. 'Eskadrille' shows a despondent man, a frightened woman and skittish children that stare questioningly at the blue sky. A charged mood permeates the canvas. The sky is hard and unforgiving and there is unrest in their eyes. A child is carried like a cannon ball on the shoulder of his father. The clouds are a vicious green, and an approaching thunderstorm looms threateningly in the upper left corner. The memories of the Second World War and the constant threat of bombing dominate the mood of the painting.
Eskadrille became the symbol of the threat of war in Israel in 1956. The painting does not only have a high artistic value, but also an iconic one.
