Charles van Wijk Van 't Hoff monument (1915)

The monument that was unveiled in 1915 in honor of JH van 't Hoff has an un-Dutch allure. Van 't Hoff is flanked by two women, who symbolize Imagination and Reason. The back of the pedestal features a display of his most important works and a bas-relief of his laboratory. The monument stands in front of the building that housed the first Rotterdam Higher Civic School (HBS) until the late 1950s. One of the first students of this school was Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff (1852 – 1911). He studied chemistry in Leiden, Bonn and Paris. He became a professor in Amsterdam in 1878. The highlight of his career was the Nobel Prize, which he received in 1901; the first awarded for chemistry. After his death in 1911, the idea quickly arose in Amsterdam university circles to erect a monument for 'their' professor. Outside of that, however, enthusiasm was limited. For that reason, they turned to his hometown of Rotterdam, where the idea was taken up by Mayor Zimmerman. The one by the Hague sculptor Charles van Wijk was chosen from five designs, which was realized in 1915. In the early 1990s, the statues of the two women were so damaged by polluted outside air that restoration was no longer possible. The Rotterdam sculptor Marthe Stigter made replicas of Portland stone, which replaced the old statues in 1997. The square around the monument was also given a makeover. It Van 't Hoff monument has become a resting point in the turmoil of the 's-Gravendijkwal.