Bandontwerp voor: Johanna van Woude, De zeven schoonheden, 1897 before 1897

This is Willem Wenckebach’s 1897 design for the cover of Johanna van Woude’s “De zeven schoonheden”, or “The Seven Beauties.” During the fin-de-siècle, the Netherlands was undergoing significant social changes, including a growing women's movement. Van Woude was a popular author known for her regionalist novels often depicting strong female characters. Wenckebach’s cover design, with its stylized floral motifs, embodies the Art Nouveau movement, which sought to integrate art into everyday life. The choice of flowers, rendered in elegant lines, evokes themes of nature, beauty, and femininity. But there is a darker side to beauty. The seven beauties of the title perhaps alludes to the seven deadly sins. The floral designs could then be seen as a metaphor for the seductive and potentially dangerous aspects of beauty, reflecting broader anxieties about female autonomy at the time. The design invites us to reflect on the complex and evolving roles of women in Dutch society at the turn of the century.