EXHIBITIONS
BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
Interior scenes by Alexander Hugo Bakker Korff
The Leiden painter Alexander Hugo Bakker Korff (1824-1882) is known for his meticulously painted domestic interior scenes, often featuring 'old spinsters'. With slight tongue-in-cheek, he portrays elderly ladies of a certain class, dressed in old-fashioned, beribboned gowns, sitting in lavishly overstuffed salons. His mother and sisters often posed for him on miniatures with titles like: 'The aunts go on their travels', 'The anniversary' and 'A cup of broth and a glass of port'.
Bakker Korff can be viewed as a direct descendant of the 17th-century Leiden “fijnschilders” - a group of painters who were famous for their exquisite technique and meticulous attention to detail. Bakker Korff’s own bijou works were highly-prized collectors’ items, and are indeed still loved to this day.
Paul Tétar van Elven and Hugo Bakker Korff met when they were students at the Art Academy in The Hague, and remained close friends throughout their lives. They maintained an intensive correspondence, of which only Hugo's letters to Paul have survived. The letters cover all manner of topics, from art to family news and ailments, as letters between good friends and colleagues do. Because of their candour, the letters are a hitherto unknown source of information about Hugo's personal and artistic concerns.
On the occasion of his 200th birthday, we are honouring Hugo with an exhibition of his works in the house of his “artistic brother”.
