Artwork Data

Title

Johanna

Artist

Dick Loef

Year

1983

Material

brons / steenachtig

Dimensions

220 cm

Artwork Location

Address

Warmoezierstraat, Den Haag

City district

Centrum

GPS data

52.0743654412522, 4.30110929553155 View on map

Artwork Description

Text

Less than a week before his death, Johan de Bruyn van Buytewech (1590-1657), lord of Nieuwkoop, Noorden and Achttienhoven, drew up a will. He stipulated that his fortune would be used to build a home for 'poor and needy widows or widowers'. In 1658 the stadholder architect Pieter Post (1608-1669) began the task. Four years later, the Hofje van Nieuwkoop was completed.

Behind the Hofje van Nieuwkoop on Prinsegracht, one of the residents seems to have been left behind, as a symbol of the 'vrouspersoonen' for whom the hofje was originally intended. It is not written on the pedestal, but the statue is called 'Johanna'. Johanna's hair is blowing backwards. She is not wearing shoes. The archaic knitted cloak around her shoulders is lifted by the wind. Perhaps poor, but certainly proud and stately.
The bronze sculpture 'Johanna' was made by Dick Loef in 1982. It shows a strong affinity with 'Berber Girl'. Here too the bare feet and a cloth around the body. The same kind of proud pose, proudly standing upright, firmly with both feet on the ground, executed in bronze.

Besides 'Berber Girl' and 'Johanna', there are several other bronzes by Loef in The Hague. There are no examples of ceramic sculptures, although the artist was certainly also well known as a ceramist.

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