Stilleven (fruitmand)

Artist Coba Ritsema (1876-1961) 

Title Stilleven (fruitmand) 

Year 1945 

Material Oil on canvas 

About the work

Although the subject of this painting is very classical – a still life of a fruit basket on a table – it is by no means painted in a traditional, naturalistic manner. Ritsema applied the paint to the canvas in coarse and long strokes. Perhaps she was in a hurry? Or maybe you can see how Coba Ritsema experienced the space around her? The fact is that as a female artist in the first half of the 20th century, she did not have the same freedom as her male contemporaries. Working outside the home was considered inappropriate. Therefore, she mainly painted still lifes and portraits, but in her own unique way. 

About the artist

Coba Ritsema (full name: Jacoba Johanna Ritsema) grew up in a well-to-do family with a keen interest in art. She had the opportunity to take painting classes at the Haarlem School of Arts and Crafts (1891-1893) and the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten in Amsterdam (1893-1897). There, she met other female artists with whom she formed the group ‘De Amsterdamse Joffers’. They worked and exhibited together, including at Arti et Amicitiae and Amsterdam’s Stedelijk Museum. In doing so, the Joffers meant a lot for the emancipation and social acceptance of professional women artists in the 20th century. 

In the collection 

Acquired in 1979. There are two paintings in the collection by artists who belonged to De Amsterdamse Joffers. The other painting, a still life with a bowl of cherries, is by Jo Bauer-Stumpff. She and Ritsema were contemporaries of George Hendrik Breitner; two of his works can also be found in De Nederlandsche Bank’s collection.