Portrait of Han Bentz van den Berg

Person depicted Han Bentz van den berg (1917-1967)
Artist Henk Dannenburg (1918-1986)
Medium Bronze cast
Year 1973

The actor and director Han Bentz van den Berg received the Louis d'Or no fewer than three times, in 1956, 1958 and 1964. His gifts were widely admired, but as artistic director of the Nederlandse Comedie he was a target of Aktie Tomaat, the protest that changed Dutch theatre profoundly. The small sculpture by Henk Dannenburg was made in 1973. The painted portrait was presented to the theatre in 1994 by Sylvia Willink: “In 1974 I painted a portrait of Han Bentz v/d Berg. It stood in a cupboard for years, and last year I repainted it completely (having learned a thing or two in nineteen years!). Now it is back in the cupboard, which is rather a shame.” The theatre accepted this casual and telling portrait of the actor and director Han Bentz van den Berg with great gratitude.