On Saturday, 22 November, an exhibition called 'The world of Louis Couperus. Homage to Frédéric Bastet will open in Louis Couperus Museum, at 17 Javastraat, 2585 AB The Hague. Bastet, who died on June 30th, was archeologist, classicist, author and poet. In 1987 he published Louis Couperus. A biography. This was followed, in 1991, by a picture book about the life of the writer, under the title: The world of Louis Couperus. The exhibition will be inaugurated on 22 November at 5.00 PM by Patrick M.A. Buch, who was a close friend of Bastet's for almost thirty years.
Bastet's Couperus Library.
The Louis Couperus Museum inherited Bastet's substantial Couperus Library. Also, the old fashioned type writer on which he typed the manuscript of his Couperus biography will be on show. The exhibition features lots of manuscripts and documents which Bastet gave to the museum during his life time. The video of the TVprogramme in which Bastet watches the only known live film fragment of Louis Couperus is an emotional asset to the exhibition.
Couperus' overcoat
In the second room, a number of objects from the collection of the Louis Couperus Museum give the impression of 'The world of Louis Couperus.' In the garden room, the 18th century dinner service of the Couperus family, which was bequeathed to the museum, is on display. A special attraction is the woollen overcoat from Couperus' own wardrobe, which was recently discovered in the collection of The Hague Gemeentemuseum. The coat was designed by the Hague Meddens company and it is probably pictured on the front of Bastets said picture book. Couperus published a couple of articles about male fashion.
