Rotterdam, NL - Charley Toorop (1891-1955) is regarded as the most prominent female Dutch artist of the 20th century. She created an oeuvre that is strong-willed, self-aware and socially committed. Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen is presenting a large-scale retrospective of her work, displaying 120 paintings, among which sixteen self-portraits. The exhibition has been put together by Marja Bosma, who has also written a book about the life and work of Charley Toorop. Both the exhibition and the book make it easy to see how key works fit into the larger body of her work that is characterised by a confrontational realism. On view through 18 January, 2009.

As daughter of the famous symbolist Jan Toorop, Charley grew up with a deep interest in culture. At first she concentrated on music, but eventually chose painting.

After an unsuccessful marriage to Henk Fernhout, with whom she had three children, Charley Toorop settled in Bergen. Painting and her artistic calling always occupied a primary position in her life. Her house ‘De Vlerken’ was a meeting place for a select circle of artistic friends, which included Piet Mondriaan, Adriaan Roland Holst and Gerrit Rietveldt.

For Charley Toorop, painting was the ultimate form of self-realization. A perfect example of this is the self-portrait from 1928 that was recently acquired by Museum Boijmans van Beuningen and that will be displayed at the exhibition. The retrospective ‘Surtout pas des principes! Charley Toorop’ will be accompanied by a richly illustrated catalogue.

The exhibition ‘Surtout pas des principes! Charley Toorop’ has been made possible thanks to the support of the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds and the K.F. Hein Fonds. During the exhibitions on Charley Toorop and Erasmus, from 27 September 2008 until 8 February 2009, there is a surcharge of € 3 on top of the museum admission fee (not for ICOM members). On Wednesdays, there is no surcharge and the museum is accessible free of charge to everyone.

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen has world-class collections of old masters, modern and contemporary art, applied arts and design. It houses approximately 126,000 objects. In addition to the displays of the permanent collection, each year the museum organises around 25 temporary exhibitions and numerous public activities. The museum attracts an average of 200,000 visitors per year. Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen has 175 employees and volunteers. Its annual budget is approximately 12 million euros. Visit : www.boijmans.nl/