Dirk
From abolitionist to slave owner
Dirk van Hogendorp spoke out against slavery, but he also owned people himself. His life story is full of contradictions. Was he an opportunist? Was he simply play-acting, or did he have a different idea of freedom?
ACTIVITY
In the Rijksmuseum, we are making masks and dioramas. When you make a mask, think of circumstances in which you put on a different mask. Or make one about yourself and who you really are. When you make a diorama, think about Dirk, who is sometimes seen as an opportunist. Fill the diorama with scenes that you think represent a theatrical situation, or alternately one that is contradictory or hypocritical. All of this may be as abstract or figurative as you wish.
FROM HOME
Mail us a sketch of your mask or diorama and we will make it for you and add it to Dirk’s sculpture.
Send it to LAMN@rijksmuseum.nl