They are the animals of our culture, naturally present, but therefore no less valuable. Pander represents their vulnerability, their fear, their bravado or their trust in humanity.
Pander works in the figurative tradition, but his touch is smooth and sketchy, unlike many of his colleagues. Only parts of the image are worked out, which makes them stand out more emphatically. The base of the painting is prepared panel or linen that is grey in colour, so that he can go both light and dark. Pander paints quickly and easily. He uses a limited palette of colours; mainly browns, blues, greys and whites. These are the colours that suit him and with which he can convey intimacy and feeling. His own use of colour, but also the strong light-dark effect, typifies Pander's work and betrays the influence of his teacher Matthijs Röling. The contrast between the coarse and finely worked out parts on the canvas creates a tension, so that the work is interesting from far away and close up. Pieter Pander is best known as a painter of portraits of people and animals. What is most striking about Pieter Pander's portraits is that the subjects are portrayed so naturally. Old people and children are often the subject of his portraits. They are depicted in completely unique, natural poses, which determine the naturalness of their presence on the canvas. In the theme we recognize life and death, but nevertheless his portraits show the respect of the painter for the posed. Just like his people, he treats the animals with respect and he tries to convey that feeling to us as well. They are the animals from our culture, naturally present, but therefore no less valuable. He portrays their vulnerability, their fear, their self-assurance or their trust in humanity. By choosing an unusual point of view without doing violence to the perspective, he creates a certain alienation that makes us look at the animal with new eyes.