Portrait of Christina Elisabeth van Ollefen-da Silva

Person depicted Christina Elisabeth van Ollefen-da Silva (1809-1881)
Artist G.H.C. Overman (1855-1906)
Medium Oil on canvas
Year 1903

This actor was given a permanent contract at the Amsterdam theatre — in the previous building on the Leidseplein — when she was just seventeen. She was trained by the great classical performers Johanna Ziesenis-Wattier and Johannes Jelgerhuis. Although that style of acting was old-fashioned, it gave her a solid foundation. Competition at the Leidseplein was fierce, unfortunately, and she had to give way to Mimi Engelman-Bia, the wife of the theatre's director.