Julie de Graag

Julie de Graag was a talented contemporary of M.C. Escher. The two artists shared a great love of nature, closely observing the world around them, and depicting it in their own unique way. 2024 is the centenary of the death of Julie de Graag. In this exhibition, Escher in The Palace will present her rich oeuvre alongside that of Escher.

In her stylised prints, Julie de Graag (1877-1924) gave ordinary subjects like animals, landscapes, flowers and plants a certain grandeur. By the time M.C. Escher was just embarking on his career, she had already developed her unique style.

After training at the art academy in The Hague, De Graag specialised in printmaking. Unfortunately, a fire in her studio in 1908 destroyed a large proportion of her early work. But despite this setback, she returned to printmaking after a time. With her clean, precise lines, De Graag managed to capture the essence of the natural world and people on paper. One fine example of her close observation of nature is Two Owls (1921), in which the bird in front looks watchful and defensive as it protects the anxious-looking owl behind. De Graag also made portraits, including one of the well-known art expert Henk Bremmer.

Although she had a great talent for black-and-white images, De Graag also often used vibrant colours, and produced work in relatively small formats. Her personal struggles and the impact of the First World War are reflected in her prints, as she increasingly chose to depict tranquil subjects. Her doubts about her abilities grew, and eventually came to dominate. Julie de Graag took her own life on 2 February 1924.

In this exhibition Escher in The Palace will showcase Julie de Graag and her contribution to art, in the context of the prints of fellow printmaker M.C. Escher. The beauty and depth of her graphic work, which depicts the richness of nature and the essence of life, makes it a pleasure to behold. This exhibition, shining a spotlight on Julie de Graag, will ensure that her work finally receives the acknowledgement it deserves.

During the exhibition on Julie de Graag, an installation by the Croatian artist Tina Iris Chulo will be displayed in the ballroom. In her work, Chulo aims to connect with the natural world, something she shares with Julie de Graag and M.C. Escher. She explores our relationship with other life forms in Feel Free to Talk to Plants, with which she graduated from the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague this summer.