Arend Willem Maurits Odé was a sculptor who specialized in monuments, reliefs, and portraits, often featuring children. He was born in Kethel, near Schiedam, and attended the art academies of Rotterdam and The Hague, completing his studies at the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, where he studied with Charles van der Stappen. He began his career in Schiedam and remained there until 1889 when he moved to The Hague. From 1898–1900 he taught at the Academy of Art in The Hague, followed by a professorship at the Technische Hogeschool in Delft until 1935. Afterwards he moved to Bilthoven until 1952, then Groningen up to 1954 and finally Zuidlaren.1 Odé was a member of Arti et Amicitae, Pulchri Studio and the Dutch Association of Sculptors and participated in their exhibitions. Odé, married to the daughter of painter Jacob Maris, received important commissions for the decoration of the façades of the Peace Palace in The Hague and the Rotterdam City Hall and to portray prominent Dutchmen.

In the late nineteenth century, Volendam had become one of the biggest artists’ villages in Europe, attracting artists from all over the world. Unlike Signac and Monet, Odé was less captivated to the surroundings of the colorful fishing village on the former Zuiderzee sea, than to its inhabitants. From the 1880s onwards, spurred by the popularity of the Hague School’s imagery, artists scoured locations throughout the Netherlands in search of the true Holland. Volendam, eleven miles north of Amsterdam, was a remote Catholic village accessible only by canal boat or carriage. Such isolation had left it largely untouched by the modernization as well as the industrialization prevalent in larger cities throughout Europe. Used to the influx of artists, many Volendammers were willing artists models who would get remunerated for their time.

The traditional costumes worn by the locals were based on sixteenth century fashion. Although there is different garb for the different seasons, for weddings and funerals, in general the clothing is egalitarian in that the entire community wears the same, making no distinction between the fishermen and the elite, the adults and the young. Meisjes uit Volendam, executed around 1900, features two young girls with round cherubic faces and bright eyes crowned by the distinctive lace wing caps, called a hul. Although the Volendam residents were popular models, very few sculptures seem to have been made of them. Another version of this cast appeared on the art market in 2004.