For English, scroll down
– Zodra het standbeeld onthuld is, zal er op deze pagina een uitgebreid foto-overzicht te zien zijn-
For English, scroll down
– Zodra het standbeeld onthuld is, zal er op deze pagina een uitgebreid foto-overzicht te zien zijn-
Het standbeeld is veelvuldig in de media geweest.
Enkele highlights:
Een brede selectie van media-aandacht rondom het beeld voor Truus van Lier:
* = interview
** = omschrijving
*** = vermelding
With this information, I decided that the image of Truus should become a recognizable image of this brave young woman. It has to stand for a long time and it comes in a classically decorated place, so bronze is the most obvious material. But how do you do that? Only a few photos of Truus are known, and then all of her head and shoulders. It didn’t seem appropriate to just create a body for this statue, because who am I to make choices about what Truus would have looked like. That’s why I decided to do it differently. Truus also studied law at the University of Utrecht, and I came up with the idea of having a law student at the UU of about the same age as a model for Truus’s body. Ultimately, the then 19-year-old Juliëtte Meeuwsen was the model. A cast has been made of Juliëtte and this forms the body, arms, and legs of the statue. As a result, the image also has a scale of 1:1, which makes it extra realistic and Truus really comes between us viewers. The clothing the statue wears is clothing that is common for a young woman in the 1940s as well as today. The classic school bag that Truus is holding in her left hand refers to the unobtrusive distribution of illegal paperwork and weapons, but also to Truus’ life as a student. The bronze statue has a light, green-brown patina. The head of the statue is a similar portrait based on the photos known by Truus, it has been modeled on top of the body by sculptor and craftswoman Marieke van der Meer.
Marieke van der Meer studied at Leiden University and KABK The Hague and has been working as a sculptor since 2011. “The history of Truus van Lier teaches me that no matter what happens, there is always hope. She represents hope and humanity to me. Truus is not only an icon as a resistance fighter but a human being, a real person. I tried to capture that real person in the portrait. So in addition to the determination and strength, also the love, the sadness, and the pain she must have felt. I feel connected to Truus in my own way because my grandmother hid a Jewish couple in her house for years. It was an honor for me to capture Truus van Lier in her portrait.”
Thanks to Juliëtte’s strong attitude and Marieke’s inspired modeling skills, the statue has become a true tribute to a powerful young woman, who unfortunately was not allowed to grow old. Truus has only turned 22, but she will continue to remind us of all her courage and decisiveness for many years to come at the Willemsplantsoen.
Was signed,
Joyce Overheul