Dutch artist Jacqueline de Jong dead at 85; Prominent figure in 1968 Paris protests

Dutch visual artist Jacqueline de Jong died on Saturday at the age of 85. She was active in her career right up until she was admitted to the Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital in Amsterdam a week ago, said gallery owner Jaring Dürst Britt, who confirmed a report in De Telegraaf.

At the moment, there are even three more De Jong exhibitions planned, all of which will still take place. Those are set to open in Paris, where she resided for years, as well as Basel, Switzerland, and Fort Lauderdale in Florida. Her exhibition, La petite mort, opened in London at the Pippy Houldsworth Gallery on May 31, and runs until July 10.

De Jong was born in Hengelo, Overijssel, and lived in Paris for an extended time. She was an accomplished painter, graphic artist and sculptor. In 1960, she started a relationship with Danish artist Asger Jørn. Already world-famous Danish, he was one of the most important figures of the COBRA movement.

He initially had a great influence on her artistically. Her paintings are often colourful, full of movement and sometimes seem gloomy. De Jong's work can be found in various collections, such as the Centre Pompidou in Paris and various Dutch museums.

In Paris, De Jong also became involved in the political and artistic movement Situationist International, which was especially active during the legendary student uprisings in Paris in 1968. She said that she had a printing press in her gallery space there, which was used to print out some of the most known posters and literature from that era. Dutch artist Constant Nieuwenhuijs also took part in Situationist International.

Last year, De Jong was honored by France with the appointment of Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. The knighthood is given out to 200 people annually by France's Minister of Culture.

De Jong was living in Amsterdam when she died. She still maintained a home in France.