Maandag Wasdag series | untitled 2016 egg-tempera on linen 100 x 60 cm available
untitled 2016 egg-tempera on linen 100 x 60 cm available
untitled 2016 egg-tempera on linen 100 x 60 cm available
untitled 2016 egg-tempera on linen 100 x 60 cm sold
untitled 2016 egg-tempera on linen 100 x 60 cm sold
untitled 2016 egg-tempera on linen 30 x 21 cm sold
untitled 2016 egg-tempera on linen 30 x 21 cm sold
untitled 2016 egg-tempera on linen 30 x 21 cm available
untitled 2017 casein on linen 30 x 21 cm available
untitled 2017 casein on linen 30 x 21 cm available
untitled 2016 egg-tempera on linen 170 x 70 cm available
untitled 2016 egg-tempera on linen 170 x 70 cm available
exhibition view city museum harderwijk netherlands
untitled 2016 egg-tempera on linen 15x 15 x 15 cm sold
untitled 2016 egg-tempera on linen 15 x 15 cm sold
untitled 2016 egg-tempera on linen 15 x15 cm sold
untitled 2016 egg-tempera on linen 15 x15 cm sold
untitled 2016 egg-tempera on linen 15 x15 cm sold
untitled 2016 egg-tempera on linen 28 x18 cm sold
untitled 2016 egg-tempera on linen 28 x18 cm sold
Maandag Wasdag series
I draw inspiration from the journeys I make, but I also find my subjects close to home—such as in the Maandag Wasdag series.
These egg tempera paintings on linen are part of the Maandag Wasdag project, which I developed after returning to my childhood home (2013–2020), a farmhouse in the Noordoostpolder. The project was first shown at Museum Schokland, located on a former island in the Zuiderzee, and was later exhibited in two cities along the shores of this former inland sea: the City Museum Harderwijk and Museum Elburg.
I grew up in the Noordoostpolder, where my grandparents had settled as pioneers. While researching its history, I came across archival photographs of women in the polder wearing the traditional dress of their region of origin. I was struck by how they held on to these garments, even after starting a new life in an unfamiliar landscape—traditional costume as a marker of identity and a sense of continuity in a new world. Over time, the costumes, customs, and the structure they represented faded away. This transition is reflected in the title of the project: Maandag Wasdag (Monday Laundry Day).
I paint these women based on historical photographs, isolating them from their daily surroundings. The use of transparent layers of egg tempera and a restrained colour palette evokes the atmosphere of a bygone era. At times, the garments seem to stand on their own, as if the wearer has vanished—a quiet interplay of presence and absence. The sharp contours created with templates suggest a limitation of movement, evoking the constriction of a corset.