Paulus Philippus Rink attended Antwerp’s Royal Academy alongside Vincent van Gogh between 1885 and 1886. Like Van Gogh, Rink sought to immortalize the hardship of ordinary people, deeply moved by their struggles. Both artists also shared a fascination with irises. Van Gogh’s celebrated Irises, painted during his stay at the asylum in Saint-Rémy, was first exhibited at the Paris Salon des Indépendants in September 1889. Rink, who lived in Paris from 1888 to 1890, likely attended the Salon. While Van Gogh’s Irises drew inspiration from Japanese woodblock prints, Rink’s Iris is rooted in Greek mythology: the mesmerizing maiden ἶρις, messenger of the gods and personification of the rainbow, is surrounded by the flower that bears her name.

Rink’s monumental symbolist interpretation of Iris received critical acclaim when it debuted in 1893. The painting was immediately acquired by Mrs. Van Biema, a bold female patron at a time when women’s roles in the art world were still emerging. However, the Jewish Van Biema family’s story would take a tragic turn during World War II, facing deportation and dispossession. After the painting’s then-owner, Eduard van Biema, died on December 16, 1942, his housekeeper and sole heir, the Catholic Czech-born Maria Saxel entrusted Iris to her fellow resistance fighter Frans Duwaer for safekeeping.

Duwaer, encouraged by his friend Willem Sandberg, director of the Stedelijk Museum, turned his Amsterdam printshop into a clandestine hub of resistance, producing some 70,000 false identity cards. On June 8, 1944, Duwaer was arrested and was executed two days later. Saxel, too, was arrested earlier that year, on April 21, 1944, for her involvement in falsifying documents. Saxel survived Dutch prisoner’s camp Vught, Ravensbrück, a Nazi concentration camp exclusively for women, and a grueling march to the Agfa-Commando satellite camp at Dachau.

After the war, Saxel undertook the arduous process of reclaiming Iris, deposited by Duwaer for safekeeping at the Stedelijk Museum in March 1943. It was a burdensome task for Saxel to claim ownership: while Duwaer had not survived the war, ownership records were purposedly absent in the museum. Finally, on April 10, 1946, Saxel was reunited with Iris.

The intertwined stories of Iris and its courageous custodian embody resilience and hope. As Iris, Olympian messenger, bridged the heavens and the earth, Saxel, serving as a courier for the resistance, carried coded communications through clandestine routes to sustain the fight against oppression. Just as the rainbow signifies hope after the storm, Saxel’s unwavering courage illuminated a path through humanity’s darkest hours. For her, Iris likely remained a potent symbol of solace and survival. Today, Rink’s Iris stands not only as a masterpiece of Dutch symbolism but also as a lasting testament to the indomitable spirit of those who resist tyranny.