20th-century galleries

Ada Crone

Ada Crone (1893–1996) started developing her wide-ranging interest in art and history at a very young age. Growing up, looking out of her window she could see the Rijksmuseum, which was to play such an important part in her life. Crone was a key figure in the early-20th-century art scene in The Hague. Her donation of 200 objects to the Rijksmuseum and the Royal Asian Art Society in the Netherlands (VVAK) contributed to the development of two new collection fields: Asian art from the 1920s onwards, and 20th-century applied arts from 1966. In the 1920s, Crone made a series of marionettes for her children, using materials from a Wiener Werkstätte sample book. These expressive, fragile puppets are now on display in the 20th century galleries.

Wilhelmina Drupsteen

Wilhelmina Cornelia Drupsteen (1880–1966) became well-known for her innovative graphic designs and active participation in the women’s movement. A turning point in her career came when she won the contest to design the official poster for the 1913 exhibition De Vrouw 1813–1913, which focused on the right of women to vote. Alongside her graphic work, Drupsteen made still lifes, portraits, genre paintings, landscapes and esoteric scenes. The Rijksmuseum recently bought her painting of six-year-old Madeleine Eulalie Land, one of her rare portraits of children. It is now on view for the first time together with her poster for De Vrouw 1813–1913.

Julie de Graag

The work of Julie de Graag (1877–1924) is known for its crisp lines, bold colour contrasts and simplified forms. De Graag specialised in woodcuts made using end grain blocks – end grain is more difficult to work with than the softer edge grain, but produces a more refined and attractive result. Her mastery of this technique was truly outstanding. De Graag drew inspiration from the natural world and her surroundings, including pets and other animals, plants, landscapes and people. The display comprises her Portrait of a Young Woman and selected bookplate artworks.

Iris de Leeuw

Iris de Leeuw (b. 1944) started her politically engaged career in Maastricht. She was the only woman member of Luuks Laboratorium (1966–1967), an artists’ collective in the city with connections to the prankster-anarchist Provo movement. Following last year’s exhibit of De Leeuw’s Spacesuit Trousers , we now turn our attention to her screenprints. As a screen printer and poster maker, De Leeuw made her name with playful, thought-provoking work for student scocieties, the women’s movement, cultural events and left-wing action groups.

Bep Rietveld Bep Rietveld (1913–1999) was living in the Dutch colony in Indonesia when Japan occupied the territory during the Second World War. The Japanese gradually interned much of the colony’s Dutch population in camps, separating the men from the children and women. One of those women was Bep Rietveld. While incarcerated, she found solace as an artist, drawing portraits of her co-prisoners – making beautiful art helped her keep a grip on life. Having already gifted to the Rijksmuseum a 1932 self-portrait by her mother, Bep Rietveld’s daughter recently donated a further two portraits. They are now on view for the first time.