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Berthe Hoola Van Nooten (1840-1885)
When Bertha Hoola van Nooten's husband died suddenly in Java leaving her with debts and a family to support, she relied on her artistic talent to earn an income. In a deeply personal message addressed particularly to women she wrote a preface to her work from the Island of Java in 1862. Describing the bitterness of exile and the "pecuniary necessities" of earning a living, she plaintively writes of a woman's difficult position making her way in the world. She goes on to say that she had found real fulfillment in the accomplishment of the task and that it brought her real and solid enjoyment. Her illustrations are drawn with great confidence and have been described as having an almost baroque exuberance.
