De Norbertinessen van Sint-Catharinadal

photography Koos Breukel text Femke Deen

In honor of the 750th anniversary of the Norbertinessen sisters of the priory in the St. Catherine Valley, the well-known Dutch photographer Koos Breukel portrayed the sisters in the summer of 2021. The photos pay tribute to one of the oldest religious communities in our country. The Norbertinessen monastery Sint-Catharinadal was founded in Wouw, but soon moved to Breda due to flooding in West Brabant. The sisters have lived in Oosterhout since 1647.

Koos Breukel (The Hague, 1962) is one of the Netherlands’ best-known portrait photographers. The cycle of life is an important and recurring theme in Breukel’s oeuvre. From new life to old age; he records the different phases of life. Breukel: “I always try to work with someone completely blank. […] My photos are actually also about a kind of curiosity about a person. That is also in the photos. A photo doesn’t explain anything, but it actually keeps the mystery alive.”

In the publication, a wide selection of Breukel’s photos is accompanied by texts and interviews by Femke Deen.

The Norbertinessen van Sint-Catharinadal is a project of the Stadsarchief Breda, the Stedelijk Museum Breda, the Stichting Grote Kerk Breda and three municipalities: Oosterhout, Wouw (municipality of Roosendaal) and Breda. The Mastboom-Brosens Foundation also supports this project.

Dutch

Femke Deen is a historian and author of the biography Anna van Saksen Verstoten bruid van Willem van Oranje. Deen obtained her doctorate in 2012 with a thesis on the role of propaganda and media during the Dutch Revolt in Amsterdam. She worked as a journalist for de Volkskrant and Historisch Nieuwsblad.

format 160 x 225 mm size 76 pagina’s softcover design Willem van Zoetendaal release October NUR 653 ISBN 978-94-6226-425-0 € 20,00