How I Discovered Two New Mondrians
A reconstruction
As a child, when I was at my grandparents’ house, I was always intrigued by the mysterious portrait above the sofa. I tried to capture her gaze but to no avail. Who was she? All I was told was that she was my great-great-grandmother Betsy of Italian descent, and that the world-famous Piet Mondrian painted her. I was absolutely not allowed to tell anyone about the latter. It was our family secret. Naturally, my grandparents didn’t want any unexpected visitors — family or strangers — who might estrange the canvas.
Our family’s Mona Lisa, as we lovingly called her, remained a mystery to me. Until my grandmother decided to sell it after my grandfather’s death a few years ago. The sale caused a national media storm, stating that “a new Mondrian was discovered.” Newspapers showed a 120-year-old picture of Mondrian posing before the portrait in his studio.
Because of the media attention, I learned new facts. The portrait had been painted on commission by my great-great-grandfather Cornelis “Cees” Bergman. He worked for and later owned a coffee trading business. It turned out that he was a friend and student of Mondrian and was one of his benefactors.
With the sale, the moment finally arrived to ask my grandmother who Betsy was. My family history suddenly came to life, a history that was…
