ASTRID ROEMER

On international womensday 2021 was the booklaunch of the Dutch version of Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls. “Bedtijdverhalen voor rebelse meisjes - 100 bijzondere Nederlandse vrouwen.”

I illustrated two portraits of two exceptional Dutch women.
The first one is Astrid Roemer a rebel writer from Paramaribo. She writes from the heart about Suriname, the Netherlands, the female identity and a lot more. She won the most important Dutch prize for literature there is. The PC Hooftprijs for proza.

For the portrait of Astrid Roemer, I did a lot of research. In the bookshelf of the illustration I tried to cover Astrid Roemers entire oeuvre. Tried to link al the typography to the original covers she had.

A great and tragic concept that I enjoyed what was written in the novella “Waarom zou je huilen mijn lieve, lieve... (1976)” a poor man won a big prize in the lotto and the he discovers that a rat ate his lotto ticket… So sad… So had to draw this in the bookshelf as a link to her story.

Couldn’t resist to draw the P.C. Hooft Award sculpture she won for her oeuvre in 2016. And the flag of Suriname represented in backside of books where she was born.

Jacoba van Beieren (1401-1436)

Jacoba van Beieren is the second rebel girl I illustrated for “Bedtijdverhalen voor rebelse meisjes - 100 bijzondere Nederlandse vrouwen.”

Jacoba, the only daughter and heiress of William, count of Zeeland, Holland, and Hainaut (Henegouwen).

In her short live full of drama Jacoba had four marriages mostly for strategic/politcal purpose to keep the country together.

Her first marriage was in 1415 to John of Touraine, who died two years later.

Her second marriage was with her cousin, John IV, duke of Brabant, in March 1418. Because of betrayal of her new husband she discharged her marriage with him and fled to England.

There, in 1423, she married Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester. The son of King Henry V.
They came back to the Netherlands to battled from Gouds, Ouderwater and Schoonhoven a heroic battle against Filips de Goede. Sadly they lost the battle…

She is known from the story the “de Zoen van Delft” to make peace.
She was no longer in power and wasn’t allowed to marry again.

But she did marry secretly out of love with Frank van Borssele.
Sadly she died after two years from tuberculosis