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Kunstmuseum Den Haag has a treasure chamber of over 160.000 pieces of art. Here we work on making the highlights from this collection available online.
The Defining Image of Anton de Kom
From Collage to Icon
A man with a determined expression, his eyes turned away from the camera. For many of us, it is this image that springs to mind when we think of the Surinamese anti-colonial writer and resistance fighter, Anton de Kom. The photographic portrait was made by the typographer and photographer, Piet Zwart, for the cover of De Kom’s book We Slaves of Suriname. Since the book’s publication in 1934, the portrait has become a symbol for the anti-colonial struggle against injustice and the fight for equality and freedom. To this day, the image is embraced by diverse groups and is a source of inspiration for many, from artists to streetwear labels. Strangely enough, it seems that Zwart never intended to publish the image in this form: the photograph was intended as part of a collage. This collage for the cover of We Slaves of Suriname is in the collection of the Kunstmuseum. Contextualising this unique artwork from the museum’s collection with dozens of other artworks of and objects, the exhibition tells the story of how this photograph has become an icon.
Cover design for We Slaves of Suriname
When We Slaves of Suriname was almost ready for publication, the photographer, typographer and industrial designer Piet Zwart (1885-1977) was commissioned to design the book cover. Zwart had emerged during the interwar years as the leading Dutch exponent of the most radical tendencies in photography and typography, a movement characterised by objective representation, technical progress, elementary shapes and primary colours.
Zwart began the design process for the book cover with a photo shoot that resulted in two portraits of the author: one with a serious expression and one with a smile. The portraits are unconventional compared to others of De Kom, who usually posed in formal clothing. Zwart cut De Kom’s head from the first portrait and added it to a photocollage of numerous cut-out figures that seem to represent the Surinamese population. Zwart used the photocollage as the basis of a sketch design with diagonal and vertical lines of text in black and red.
Ultimately, Zwart’s dynamic design was not used on the cover of De Kom’s book. It was most likely rejected by the publisher, Contact, which opted simply to use Zwart’s portrait of De Kom on the cover of We Slaves of Suriname. The exhibition features the original collage and sketch design for the book cover and prints of both the serious and smiling portrait.
Revival of interest
Although De Kom was well-known during his lifetime for his anti-colonial activities and writings, his name was forgotten after his death in Sandbostel concentration camp. We Slaves of Suriname was rediscovered by Surinamese students in the 1960s, and his ideas spread both in Suriname and in the Netherlands. Zwart’s portrait also resurfaced at this time: it was featured on the cover of the 1971 reissue of We Slaves of Suriname, on a poster for the Anton de Kom year in 1988 and on Surinamese banknotes in the 1980s.
More recently, the artist Iris Kensmil has used the portrait as a starting point for a memorial plaque, and the Amsterdam-based fashion label Patta has printed it on a T-shirt. This renewed interest reflects not only De Kom’s status as a folk hero but also the power of Zwart’s portrait. De Kom’s iconic status makes Zwart’s portrait an icon, a symbol of the fight against injustice and for equality, independence and freedom.
The exhibition features numerous editions of De Kom’s book with various cover designs featuring Zwart’s portrait, Iris Kensmil artwork, a textile design by Farida Sedoc and the T-shirt by Patta.
The exhibition has been realised with the help of the De Kom family, Carl Haarnack, The Black Archives, Nederlands Fotomuseum, Flip Bool, Iris Kensmil and Farida Sedoc.