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Looking forward to meeting you. Portraits of Unknown Women
+++ Curated by Anouk Stoffels+++
+++Anouk Stoffels +++
ISBN 978-94-93329-86-7
Price € 29.50
Editor & compilation Anouk Stoffels
Additional texts Carlien Lammers, Alies Pegtel, Anouk Stoffels, Daphne Voormolen, Joke de Wolf
Final editor Eleonoor Jap Sam
Translation Michael Meert
Design Anouk Stoffels
Printing Oro Grafisch Projectmanagement
Number of pages +544
Book size 14 x 18.5 cm
Binding hardcover
Language English / Dutch
Release date Autumn / Winter 2026
Publisher Jap Sam Books
Made possible with the support of the Jaap Harten Fonds, De Mastboom-Brosens Stichting, Gravin van Bylandt Stichting, De Gijselaar-Hintzenfonds, voordekunst (129 donors, het Cultuurfonds/Leve het Geven).
Credit: The portraits reproduced here are details of complete portraits.
Cover portraits: Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Museum van Bommel van Dam Venlo, Frans Hals Museum Haarlem, Stedelijk Museum Breda, Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam, Fries Museum Leeuwarden, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Van Abbemuseum Eindhoven, Marlene Dumas.
+++
Looking Forward to Meeting You: Portraits of Unknown Women brings together an archive assembled by graphic designer Anouk Stoffels over the past six years: historical and contemporary drawings, paintings and photographs of women whose identities are unknown, drawn from national collections and museums throughout the Netherlands.
The portraits bring into view both the differences and affinities between these women, while preserving the individuality of each sitter. Together, they convey a striking sense of presence. By pairing portraits according to composition, medium or emotional register, Stoffels brings their affinities and contrasts into sharper focus, allowing each image to resonate with the next. By bringing together portraits from collections across different cities and communities, she creates unexpected connections between the cultural contexts and traditions embodied in the works.
In this way, Looking Forward to Meeting You becomes more than an archival project: it invites us to reconsider both the narratives of art history and the society in which we live.
This publication brings together more than 400 portraits of unidentified women from national collections and museums across the Netherlands, gathered over the course of a six-year visual investigation.
Anouk Stoffels graduated in Graphic Design from AKV|St. Joost Breda in 2012. She lives and works Breda, where she runs her own visual design studio. In addition to working for commercial clients, she collaborates with cultural institutions and museums, developing and designing exhibitions. Her interest in book design, research and archives, together with an abiding curiosity, led to a six-year investigation into unidentified portraits. The project has resulted in this publication and will continue through an online platform, a series of lectures and a programme of public events.
Curated by Anouk Stoffels
€29.50
Looking forward to meeting you. Portraits of Unknown Women
Curated by Anouk Stoffels
€29.50
Art / Design / Photography / Upcoming
ISBN 978-94-93329-86-7
Price € 29.50
Editor & compilation Anouk Stoffels
Additional texts Carlien Lammers, Alies Pegtel, Anouk Stoffels, Daphne Voormolen, Joke de Wolf
Final editor Eleonoor Jap Sam
Translation Michael Meert
Design Anouk Stoffels
Printing Oro Grafisch Projectmanagement
Number of pages +544
Book size 14 x 18.5 cm
Binding hardcover
Language English / Dutch
Release date Autumn / Winter 2026
Publisher Jap Sam Books
Made possible with the support of the Jaap Harten Fonds, De Mastboom-Brosens Stichting, Gravin van Bylandt Stichting, De Gijselaar-Hintzenfonds, voordekunst (129 donors, het Cultuurfonds/Leve het Geven).
Credit: The portraits reproduced here are details of complete portraits.
Cover portraits: Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Museum van Bommel van Dam Venlo, Frans Hals Museum Haarlem, Stedelijk Museum Breda, Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam, Fries Museum Leeuwarden, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Van Abbemuseum Eindhoven, Marlene Dumas.
Looking Forward to Meeting You: Portraits of Unknown Women brings together an archive assembled by graphic designer Anouk Stoffels over the past six years: historical and contemporary drawings, paintings and photographs of women whose identities are unknown, drawn from national collections and museums throughout the Netherlands.
The portraits bring into view both the differences and affinities between these women, while preserving the individuality of each sitter. Together, they convey a striking sense of presence. By pairing portraits according to composition, medium or emotional register, Stoffels brings their affinities and contrasts into sharper focus, allowing each image to resonate with the next. By bringing together portraits from collections across different cities and communities, she creates unexpected connections between the cultural contexts and traditions embodied in the works.
In this way, Looking Forward to Meeting You becomes more than an archival project: it invites us to reconsider both the narratives of art history and the society in which we live.
This publication brings together more than 400 portraits of unidentified women from national collections and museums across the Netherlands, gathered over the course of a six-year visual investigation.
Anouk Stoffels graduated in Graphic Design from AKV|St. Joost Breda in 2012. She lives and works Breda, where she runs her own visual design studio. In addition to working for commercial clients, she collaborates with cultural institutions and museums, developing and designing exhibitions. Her interest in book design, research and archives, together with an abiding curiosity, led to a six-year investigation into unidentified portraits. The project has resulted in this publication and will continue through an online platform, a series of lectures and a programme of public events.
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