Portrait of Maria Francisca Bia

Person depicted Maria Francisca Bia (1809-1889)
Role Juffrouw Serklaas
Artist Hendrik A. Sangster (1825-1901)
Medium Oil on Canvas
Year 1866

The actress Maria (Mimi) Francisca Bia is depicted as Juffrouw Serklaas from the play written by Hendrik Jan Schimmel about a seventeenth-century woman who played a major diplomatic role in the Rijnland water board. Mimi Bia performed at the Stadsschouwburg throughout her entire career and married two theatre directors. Thanks to her position, she managed to keep other actresses away from the major roles, in a time not known for the high quality of its theatre.