Sijtje Antje Agatha Johanna Aafjes was a Dutch painter,

draftswoman A drafter (also draughtsman / draughtswoman in British and Commonwealth English, draftsman / draftswoman or drafting technician in American and Canadian English) is an engineering technician who makes detailed technical drawings or plans for ...

, and illustrator, mainly of children's books. Aafjes was born in

Amsterdam, Netherlands Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban are ...

on 22 August 1893. Her parents were Margje van der Heijden (1871–1934) and Anthonius Pieter Aafjes (1864–1934). She had one older sister named Jo (1891–1972). She began working as a

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

teacher around age 20. In 1919, she worked in

Katendrecht Katendrecht is a neighbourhood of Rotterdam, on the south bank of the Nieuwe Maas. It is located between the Rijnhaven and the Maashaven. Katendrecht was a separate municipality from 1817 to 1874, when it merged with Charlois Charlois () is a ...

at the Openbare Bewaarschool aan de Tolhuisstraat. During her time teaching, she became a self-taught artist, making paintings and illustrations. Aafjes' earlier works were signed with her full name, and later she signed using the

monogram A monogram is a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol. Monograms are often made by combining the initials of an individual or a company, used as recognizable symbols or logos. A series o ...

"SA". She illustrated children's books, postcards, and book jackets. She illustrated two self-written children's books, ''Voor broertjes en zusjes'' (1921), and ''Wie leest en kijkt mee, de versjes en prentjes van't ABC'' (1923). Between 1930 and 1933, she was an illustrator of ''Kie-ke-boe'', a youth magazine. She was mentored by the artist

Berhardina Midderigh-Bokhorst Johanna Berhardina Midderigh-Bokhorst (1880–1972) was a Dutch illustrator. Biography Midderigh-Bokhorst née Bokhorst was born on 31 May 1880 in Surabaya, a large city in the Dutch East Indies, where her father served in the East Indian army. ...

, whom Aafjes was introduced to by a publisher. She also studied anatomy under . Aafjes died in Rotterdam on 16 April 1972, at age 78. Her work is held in the collections of the

Rijksmuseum The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the St ...

Museum Meermanno Museum Meermanno – House of the Book ( nl, Huis van het boek), formerly called Museum Meermanno-Westreenianum, is a museum named after Willem Hendrik Jacob van Westreenen van Tiellandt on the Prinsessegracht 30 in The Hague. It is remarkable fo ...

, and Literatuurmuseum (originally the Letterkundig Museum).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aafjes, Sijtje 1893 births 1972 deaths 20th-century Dutch women artists Artists from Amsterdam Dutch illustrators Dutch women illustrators Dutch children's book illustrators