Portrait of Louis Bouwmeester

Person depicted Louis Bouwmeester (1842-1925)
Role Coriolanus (Shakespeare)
Artist Toon Dupuis (1877-1937)
Medium Bronze cast
Year 1933/1934

Louis Bouwmeester is regarded as one of the greatest Dutch actors of all time. As an enfant de la troupe, he learned the craft in his parents' travelling company. He went on to perform the great dramatic and comic roles with enormous passion, but it was his Shakespeare that brought him international fame. Besides performances in London and Vienna, he appeared in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1921, a high point in a rich career. At his funeral service at the theatre, thousands gathered on the Leidseplein to pay their respects. The portrait by Toon Dupuis shows a serene Bouwmeester; the large portrait by Tassos Loukides shows him in his greatest role, Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. For many years he and his sister Theo gave their names to the foremost Dutch theatre awards, and he is commemorated on one of the proscenium boxes in the Main Auditorium (Grote Zaal).