BANKNOTE DESIGNER OOTJE OXENAAR (1929-2017)

One series of banknotes that causes many Dutch people to feel nostalgic is the “Erflaters 2” (‘Testators 2’) series, which featured portraits of key figures from the nation’s history. These notes, designed by Ootje Oxenaar, appeared from the late sixties onwards. They were notable and innovative due to their bold colours and the use of a white background.

Ootje Oxenaar, who was born in The Hague in 1929, represents a key turning point in the history of Dutch banknotes in several respects.

Oxenaar studied at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague (KABK). In the mid-1960s his career received a major boost in the shape of two important public-sector clients; in 1963 Oxenaar designed his first stamps for the national postal service (PTT) and in 1966 he set to work as a designer for De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB). Under DNB President Jelle Zijlstra, Oxenaar designed his first series of banknotes, the above-mentioned “Erflaters” series, which he worked on until 1974. Oxenaar was the first in a long line of artists who was also a graphic designer. He therefore ‘spoke the same language’ as the banknote printers, and he aligned his designs with the production techniques of the day. As a result, he could count on the support of the printing companies.

From 1980 onwards, at Oxenaar’s insistence, all the ‘noble historical figures’ were cast aside, giving him the freedom to dev

Without DNB’s knowledge, Oxenaar incorporated his own private touches of humour into his designs. He scribbled his name, Ootje, almost invisibly on the 5 guilder note, and the image of Frans Hals’s face conceals the fingerprint of his middle finger. In this interesting short film, Oxenaar talks about what inspired him and reveals that the positioning of the bee on the sunflower actually came about by accident.

But his biggest prank was the 250 guilder note featuring the lighthouse, at the top of which Oxenaar included three names: of a secret friend of his, of his girlfriend Ria and of his granddaughter. He also put in a watermark of his girlfriend’s rabbit so that people would unwittingly walk around with her rabbit in their pocket.

Ootje spent the final years of his life living in the USA, where he recently passed away (on 13 June 2017) aged 87.

To read the complete article, see:
Ootje Oxenaar passed away (on 13 June 2017) (http://www.laurensschulman.nl/media/clnews/14982388461311051936.html)

To view The Money Maker film , see:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5BlybJGiiU (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5BlybJGiiU)

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