14 February 2018

In memoriam Adèle van Rijckevorsel (1921- 2017)

December 1st 2017 Adèle van Rijckevorsel passed away at 96 years of age in her home in The Hague.

She was a dear friend of Constant and they were in a relationship from about 1979 till 1991. Had she accepted his proposal, she would have been his wife.

Adèle van Rijckevorsel, ca. 1980. Photo: Max Koot

Adèle was an important influence on Constant and his work. She worked relentlessly to promote his work, organize exhibitions at her house and mediated numerous sales of his work to her network. She was one of his personal advisors till his passing in 2005.

She was a woman of great character with many talents and with a distinctive sense of beauty and esthetics. The design of her house and garden bears testament of her good taste. Her conversations with Constant about art and life were numerous and speckled with humor. In the painting De dompteuse, 1980 Constant portrays Adèle as a lion tamer with three lions adoringly at her feet. The top lion is Constant himself.

We honor Adèle and the important part she played in Constant’s life. May she rest in peace.