Ode to Johanna van Gogh-Bonger | Letter for Jo van Gogh-Bonger

Dear, Dear Jo, when did the sun rise again for you? Strong wife and mother,

First of all, thank you so much for bequeathing your life's work!

If only we could be pen pals, I want to know so much about you. For several months now I have been aware of your existence, much of your story and what you have experienced and accomplished in your life. What really appeals to me is that you too were a young woman from Amsterdam who dared to broaden her horizons at a time when that was not at all obvious or easy.

What I find enormously special is what you have meant in the lives of Vincent & Theo van Gogh. I am very impressed by all that I now learn about your life and also what I can still learn from it, even more than 100 years later. Your biography can encourage all wonderful valuable women. The strength that emanates from it, your perseverance and highly commendable creativity will give hope to many and make them aware that the sun will one day rise again for them too.

You have persevered with so much Hope, Faith & Love to show the extraordinary life work of Vincent to the world, and I wonder if you ever dared to dream that years later the Van Gogh Museum would open, where these masterful and unique artworks are still visited daily by thousands of tourists from all over the world.

I can tell you that the lines in 2025 are still long. While I am receiving a tour in the museum, I wonder where you lived and grew up. I was born and raised in Amsterdam and have lived in almost all neighborhoods. I see you in my mind walking across the canals in the city center, the streets near the famous zoo Artis, or along the current Albert Cuyp market which is within walking distance of the Museumplein. Here I am now, looking outside and daydreaming about what it must have been like for a young woman to live and survive during that time, standing up for herself when the world around her was unfair, and how she had to hold herself together through tough days, months, or years.

Did you have a warm network or safety net around you, or did you draw your strength from faith, as I have learned to do and have reaped the benefits from in recent years?

What drove and encouraged you? Was it perhaps the gift you received from Vincent when your son was born, with that overwhelmingly beautiful almond blossom that now hangs at the entrance of the museum, symbolizing birth, spring, a new beginning...

This year we celebrate 750 years of Amsterdam, our beautiful large city with a very rich history, trading past, cultures, stories, and colorful people. And just a small example about the position of women now... We even have a female mayor, Femke Halsema, and on April 25, 2025, just before the King's Day that we are now celebrating, 41 people were knighted in the Order of Orange-Nassau during the decorations shower at the Concertgebouw opposite the Van Gogh Museum.

Because two very dear, beloved, and strong women in my life received a royal honor, I had the honor to be present as one of the guests. This award has been given since April 4, 1892, to people who have made exceptional contributions to society.

While I walk over the orange carpet towards the Museumplein with a small pastry shaped like a crown in my hand, laughing and taking a number of selfies and photos, I realize that you should actually receive this recognition retroactively for all the mountains you have moved!

Dear Jo, you are a great example and source of inspiration for the women of Amsterdam, as well as for all other women around the world! Every woman, regardless of our different cultural and social backgrounds, nationality, status, single, widowed, or married...

Together we are Royal & Powerful and with you in mind, I would say: WEAR THAT CROWN WITH KNOWN COURAGE!

With divine blessing and a loving heart,

Kim Bundel