J.A. Alberdingk Thijm (1820 - 1889). Marble, H.J. Maessen, c. 1900. Amsterdam man of letters and businessman Alberdingk Thijm was a central figure in the emancipation of the Catholics in the Netherlands. He argued for a reappraisal of Dutch history: from a Catholic perspective. He was particularly interested in the Middle Ages. Together with his brother-in-law P.J.H. Cuypers (architect of the Rijksmuseum) Alberdingk Thijm campaigned for a revival of medieval architecture. This bust was presented to the Rijksmuseum by Cuypers in 1909. Hein Maessen (1871 - 1959), who made the sculpture, worked at Cuypers's studio in Roermond.