Geesje Kwak (born Gezina Kwak; 17 April 1877 – 1899) was a Dutch model for the painter and photographer George Breitner. She became known for the series of seven paintings (and accompanying photo studies) that Breitner made of her in 1893 and 1894 as the girl in red and white

kimono The is a traditional Japanese garment and the national dress of Japan. The kimono is a wrapped-front garment with square sleeves and a rectangular body, and is worn Garment collars in hanfu#Youren (right lapel), left side wrapped over ri ...

s, lying on a sofa and standing in front of a mirror in an oriental interior.

Life

Gezina Kwak was born on 17 April 1877, in

Zaandam Zaandam () is a city in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is the main city of the municipality of Zaanstad and received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in 1811. It is located on the river Zaan ...

, North-Holland,

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. Kwak moved to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

in 1893 at the age of sixteen with her elder sister Anna. Kwak became a seamstress and a hat seller. She and her sister first lived in the Govert Flinckstraat, and then in the Tweede van Swindenstraat in

Dapperbuurt Dapperbuurt is a neighbourhood located in the east of Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933, ...

. The two sisters came into contact with the painter Breitner when he had just recovered from an eye infection and had moved into a studio at Lauriergracht. Breitner had visited an exhibition of Japanese prints in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

in 1892, and subsequently purchased several Japanese kimonos and a few folding screens. He had the two sisters pose in this setting in 1893. Kwak soon became his main model. She walked around the studio and Breitner took pictures and sketches of her. This is how the series of paintings of Kwak in kimono was created, of which '' Girl in a White Kimono'' and ''Girl in Red Kimono'' are the best known. However, Kwak did not pose for Breitner for very long. In 1895 she emigrated to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

with her younger sister Niesje. There she died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

in 1899 aged 22. Kwak was paid for her work, and the relationship between her and Breitner appears to have been strictly businesslike. Breitner kept a meticulous note in a preserved notebook about when and how long she had posed for him, and what amount of money he had given her for it.

Literature

Paintings & photographs

File:George Hendrik Breitner - Girl in a Kimono.jpg File:Breitner Geesje Kwak 3.jpg File:George Hendrik Breitner - Meisje in witte kimono (Geesje Kwak).jpg File:Georg Hendrik Breitner - Staand naakt 1893.jpg File:Geesje Kwak, en-profil naar links PK-F-GHB.015, PK-F-00.058.tiff File:Breitner Meisje in rode kimono voor de spiegel.png

Reference

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kwak, Geesje 1877 births 1899 deaths Dutch artists' models People from Zaanstad 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in South Africa