Portrait of the writer Ida Boy-Ed
| Dating | 1907 |
|---|---|
| Material / technique | oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 135 x 112 cm (frame) |
| Literature | Limburger Koerier (daily newspaper), February 8, 1908, p. 3 Kunst und Kultur Lübecks im 19. Jahrhundert, Kurzführer Museum Drägerhaus 1981, pages 30-31 |
| Exhibitions | Maastricht 1908 (February), shop window of photographer Herman Bopp |
| Provenance | 1981-2004: on long-term loan at Museum Behnhaus Drägerhaus, Lübeck |
| Current residence | Private property |
| Signature | b.r HRI [underlined] GOOVAERTS [underlined] 1907 |
| Headings | |
| Remarks | Ida Cornelia Ernestina Ed (1852 - 1928) grew up in Lübeck as the daughter of a writer and newspaper publisher. Ida has been writing stories from a young age, which is encouraged by her family. At the age of eighteen she marries the Lübeck merchant Carl Johann Boy. It is not a happy marriage, in which her writing practice is ridiculed and eventually even banned. Ida and Carl have four children and after ten years their marriage is dissolved. From then on, Ida Boy-Ed successfully combines motherhood with writing. She also develops as a trailblazer for the literary and artistic climate in Lübeck, where she has been of great importance to, among others, writer Thomas Mann, who was making his debut at the time. (Reference: biography by Barbara Niemeyer at http://www.polunbi.de/pers/boy-ed-01.html) Henri Goovaerts painted her portrait on behalf of her son-in-law Charles Bottler (also portrayed by Goovaerts) as a gift for his wife Rose, Ida's eldest daughter. |