04/05/2026
For guest curator Eloise Sweetman, this handmade garment from a textile designed by Corneille truly symbolises the essence of the exhibition ๐๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฏ. ๐๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ข ๐๐ณ๐ต ๐ข๐ด ๐๐ฆ๐น๐ต๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ.
In Dutch culture, there is a saying: โDoe normaal, dan doe je al gek genoegโ (โJust act normal, that is crazy enoughโ). The person who wore this dress clearly lived outside that norm. The dress is vibrant, explosive, and boldly unconventional.
It stands as a symbol of womenโs growing agency in the postwar era, moving into the 1960s, a time when self-expression and independence were coming to the forefront.
๐๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฏ. ๐๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ข ๐๐ณ๐ต ๐ข๐ด ๐๐ฆ๐น๐ต๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ highlights a brief yet significant moment in post-war Dutch art and design history. In the years following the Second World War,
textile manufacturers asked artists associated with the Cobra movement to translate their paintings into repeatable patterns for clothing and interior textiles.
๐๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฏ. ๐๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ข ๐๐ณ๐ต ๐ข๐ด ๐๐ฆ๐น๐ต๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ is guest curated by Eloise Sweetman, in conversation with Museum Cobraโs programme team.
1. Corneille (1922โ2010) | Garment fabric | 1955-1956 | Famous Artists Series | N.V. Stoomweverij De Nijverheid | hand-printed cotton | Museum Cobra, Amstelveen | Gift 1996, Mw. Tebbenhoff-Van Weert Photo by
2. Corneille, kledingstof voor Stoomweverij De Nijverheid, circa 1955, c/o Pictoright Amsterdam 2026