One shows 'Miss Blanche', a brand name of Virginia Cigarettes. Photo: © Albert Hagenaars.
Miss Blanche's location, although not in the centre, is perfect: all travelers by train from Vlissingen to Breda/Rotterdam could admire her, since the house in question is on Parallelweg, a road along the railway line, as the name partly indicates. Photo: © Albert Hagenaars.
The painting seems to have been made by Nithes Couwenberg after a design (ca. 1925) by Hungarian artist Vilmos Huszár (1884 - 1960). Vilmos Herz as his real name was, lived in The Netherlands and was a co-founder of De Stijl, one of the most important European trends in art in the 20th century. Photo: © Albert Hagenaars.
In September 2008 the mural was restored by Wendy Schoenaker. In order to keep the colours vivid as long as possible she used mineral paint. A tree that blocked the wall, was cut. Photo: © Albert Hagenaars.
Bergen op Zoom is not the only town which boasts a Miss Blanche by Huszár; Culemborg and Leiden are the other lucky ones. Their murals have also been restored. Here's the one in Culemborg. Photo: © Albert Hagenaars.
The image was painted on a side wall in the Achterstraat. The house itself is located Tollensstraat 36. Photo: © Albert Hagenaars.
If you like irony: in Bergen op Zoom cigaret producer Philip Morris International Inc. runs the biggest as well as one of the most modern factories of the world. It produces a number of brands, like Marlboro. Until recently it made 92 billion cigarets per year. Partly due to less consumption in Europe the company decided to close the main plant in 2014. Two departments, 'Expanded Tobacco Plants" and "Flavor Processing Centre", will be kept operational. So, Miss Blanche beats Marlboro, at least in BoZ...
Vilmos Huszár.
www.alberthagenaars.nl
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