Theo Molkenboer

Theodorus Henricus Antonius Adolph Molkenboer (23 February 1871, Leeuwarden – 1 December 1920, Lugano) was a Dutch painter and designer, notably, of book covers and posters.

[1] He maintained a lifelong interest in church architecture and wrote an influential article on the topic for De Katholieke Illustratie, He felt more drawn to decorative painting and portraiture so, in 1892, he enrolled at the Rijksakademie, where he studied with August Allebé, Gerrit Willem Dijsselhof, and his uncle, Antoon Derkinderen.

[citation needed] In those years, Molkenboer's artistic efforts also became fragmented, as he dabbled in etching, lithography, sculpting, glass painting, ceramics and furniture design in a quest for versatility.

[1] Following the example of his brother, Antoon, he began making lengthy stays in the United States to give personal service to his American customers.

He put together a booklet that was published in 1917, but was unsatisfied and asked the Ministry of the Interior to subsidize further studies and the collection of actual costumes.

The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences backed his plan, but it was opposed by Adriaan Pit, the Director of the Nederlands Museum van Geschiedenis en Kunst [nl], and the municipal government of Amsterdam, due to ongoing disagreements about the museum's contents.