Thomasine Adrienne Doffegnies Archive
In October 2022, the RKD acquired the archive of the artist Thomasine Adrienne Doffegnies (1865-1937). Doffegnies was a painter, watercolourist and illustrator. The archive contains hundreds of letters, including correspondence with her son Hendrik Willem Cornelder Jr. (1896-1990), who was also an artist.
Thomasine Adrienne Doffegnies
T.A. Doffegnies was a student in the ladies' class at the Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague from 1884 to 1888. This was a relatively new phenomenon; up until 1872, no women were admitted to this art academy. After her studies in The Hague, Doffegnies married businessman Hendrik Willem Cornelder (1865-1939). A year later, the couple and their newly born child moved to Nijmegen, where Doffegnies worked as a painter for the rest of her life. Today, her work is in museum collections such as that of the Drents Museum, as well as in many private collections.
2. T.A. Doffegnies, The artist’s studio, around 1900, collection Drents Museum, Assen
3. T.A. Doffegnies, Rhododendron twigs, whereabouts unknown
Exhibitions and artist associations
In her own time, Thomasine Doffegnies' paintings were already well received. From about 1900, her work was shown in The Hague by the international art dealer Boussod, Valadon & Cie. In Haarlem, art dealer Johannes Henricus de Bois also sold works by Doffegnies. She was known primarily as a painter of flower still lifes, but also made landscapes and figure studies. In 1912, she came into contact with Jan Toorop, who advised her to exhibit more. During this period, Doffegnies became a member of several artists' societies, including Sint Lucas and Arti et Amicitiae, where she participated in the exhibitions of Living Masters. In addition, Doffegnies was in contact with the Amsterdam Joffers, a group of artist friends who had studied at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten (State Academy of Fine Arts) in Amsterdam in the late nineteenth century. She also exhibited her work with them.
Acquisition to the RKD
The archive of T.A. Doffegnies was donated to the RKD by Doffegnies' great-grandchildren Lous and Ingrid Martin, along with the archive of her son Henk Cornelder junior. The archive consists primarily of letters and correspondence, but also includes photographs and an estate list made after Doffegnies' death. Some of Doffegnies' archive was previously lost, making it especially valuable that the preserved part has returned to The Hague, a place that was indispensable to her artistry during her lifetime.
2. T.A. Doffegnies, Basket with violins, private collection
3. T.A. Doffegnies, Brief aan Hendrik Willem Cornelder jr., 7 oktober 1919, collectie RKD