Jean Thomassen (Dutch, b. 1949) "Mouse on a Bike"

Updated September 18, 2026

This auction ended on October 4, 2026. See upcoming auctions from Oakwood Auctions or current sporting goods & outdoors auctions.

Lot number	434
Estimate	100.00 - 200.00 USD
Category	Sporting Goods & Outdoors
Auction	October Art & Collectibles- 2-DAY Auction
Date	October 4, 2026 at 11:00 PM EDT
Auction house	Oakwood Auctions
Location	Stouffville

Jean Thomassen (Dutch, b. 1949), Mouse on a Bike, an original miniature oil on board presenting a wonderfully concentrated example of the artist's imaginative, meticulously rendered Absurd Realist vocabulary. Within an exceptionally small pictorial field, Thomassen constructs an entire dreamlike narrative: a white mouse rides a bicycle across an open landscape with a richly patterned red bundle secured behind, while a strangely tilted house and birds in flight punctuate the distant horizon. The improbable subject is treated not as caricature but with remarkable seriousness of execution, creating the intriguing tension between technical precision and visual absurdity that gives Thomassen's work its distinctive character. Particularly compelling is the contrast between the painting's diminutive scale and the amount of narrative and descriptive information contained within it. The mouse's carefully articulated fur, delicate bicycle framework, patterned parcel, atmospheric landscape and skewed architecture reward close inspection, giving the work an almost jewel-like intensity. Thomassen's association with highly detailed miniature painting makes the intimate format especially appropriate to his practice, while the whimsical animal protagonist and surreal landscape broaden its appeal among collectors of Dutch contemporary art, Absurd Realism, fantastic realism, surrealism, miniature paintings and finely executed animal subjects. Signed at the lower right and presented in a substantial silver-tone frame with broad brown matting and a silver-tone inset surround, the presentation deliberately emphasizes the extraordinary smallness of the original painting and gives the work considerable visual presence despite its intimate dimensions. Mouse on a Bike combines technical control, eccentric narrative invention and an immediately memorable subject, making it an appealing cabinet-scale original for both established Jean Thomassen collectors and buyers drawn to distinctive European figurative and surrealist art. Image: 2 10/16 x 3 2/16 inches (2 5/8 x 3 1/8 inches). Frame: 12 x 12 1/2 inches. The work presents well overall, with no significant condition issue apparent; not examined out of the frame.

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