Art route female artists in and around the city center.

Above the roundabout in the bicycle shed, in a crowd of coming and going travellers, a snow house hangs upside down from the ceiling of the Stadsbalkon. In the globe there are 11 perspex plates whose contours resemble those of the central main station. The use of new media in the form of computer-controlled LED lighting creates a play of light and dark in the globe; every now and then the stations aspect changes into a shadow of itself. 

Vos was captivated by the contrast and conflict that the Stadsbalkon and the main station seem to have with each other. On the one hand, the modern square gives the monumental station new allure, but it also obscures part of it from view. With Second Thought, Vos mirrors the station from top to bottom, as it were, and connects the two structures underground."

At first glance, this lady meets well-known beauty ideals: she has a fine, pale face with high cheekbones, a hip forest of hair and a piercing under her lip. She seems to be standing impressively high on her legs, in a dress with the huge skirt draped over a crinoline.

But the woman appears to be a doll, of which the perspective between upper and lower body is not correct. Her legs dangle under the transparent skirt. She has elevated herself, as it were, in the wheeled crinoline, because she cannot meet the usual beauty ideal of long legs, and moves with prosthetic arms. Silvia B. was inspired for this sculpture by current scientific developments, which contribute to what man can do. The lady is an anti-beauty; a sum of different types and styles. Cascade's postmodernist architecture provides an appropriate backdrop for this. 

No, this artist is not mistakenly part of this route: Frederik Engel Jeltsema (1879-1971) went through life as a woman until he was 27. In 1879 he was born in Uithuizen as Frederika Engelina, and registered in the birth register as a she. But gradually it became clear that Yeltsema was dealing with what we now call an intersex condition: he had more masculine than feminine characteristics, and also felt more masculine than feminine. In 1906, Jeltsema decided to go through his transition: he left his body unchanged, but he started to dress differently and had his hair cut short. He was twice happily married to female partners, and was successful as an artist.

Jeltsema made the work De Zittende Jongeling (The Seated Youth) ten years after his transition, in 1916. With the work he depicted the young man according to the ancient Greek tradition: naked, athletically built and with perfect body proportions. In 1960 he presented the statue to the city of Groningen, which placed it here in the middle of the grass of Emmaplein. 

At the beginning of the Ubbo Emmiussingel is the bronze statue of Kind met Lam (Child with Lamb). This small sculpture, also known as Little Boy with Goat, was made in 1955 by Fransje Carbasius, for whom the depiction of children and animals was a favorite theme. The statue originally stood at a primary school in the De Hoogte district, but there it was regularly vandalized and knocked off its pedestal.

After it was fished badly battered from a neighboring rail ditch, it was decided to move it to a safer location. It has been in its current location since 1986; no longer in the vicinity of a school, but a stone's throw from another important 'children's place': Huize Tavenier. From 1949 to 1981, the first maternity hospital in Groningen was located in this Art Nouveau villa at number 110. 

The Vishoek used to be a hub for ships from the Zuiderhaven and Noorderhaven. And where there were ports, there was prostitution. Until a few years ago, a mainly red glow shone through the streets here. For centuries this neighborhood was home to the girls of pleasure. Now there is only one: the female bust, made by Anne Wenzel. Thanks to this bust, the ladies still determine the street scene of the A-quarter. Wenzel has thus created a monument to women as a person, with all her beauty, strength and vulnerability.

This statue of Aletta Jacobs, the first female doctor to graduate and the first PhD student in the Netherlands, is the only Groningen monument dedicated to a woman. Sculptress Theresia van der Pant has struck the robust appearance of Jacobs well: the portrait clearly shows determination.

And Jacobs was determined. She was born in Sappemeer in 1854 as the daughter of a general practitioner, and at the age of 17 (in 1871) she started her medical studies at the University of Groningen, where she obtained her doctorate in 1879. She established her practice as a doctor in Amsterdam and did important work there for many years in the field of women's health care and birth control. In addition, Jacobs was active in the struggle for women's suffrage and world peace.

Jacobs inspired many, including her older sister Charlotte: she became the second woman to graduate in the Netherlands, and subsequently the first female pharmacist in the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies. 

Marthe Röling designed a pennant for the square at the Harmoniecomplex (which houses, amoung other things the Faculty of Arts of the University of Groningen). The shape of this pennant, according to the artist, 'is emerging, is in motion, elevates itself'.

The pennant bears the Latin words 'non scholae, sed vitae'. The proverb originates from the Roman philosopher Seneca, who noted to his regret: 'Non vitae, sed scholae discimus': 'we do not learn for life, but for school'. Röling turned it around: 'not for school, but for life'. 

The twelve golden owls in the tympanum of the Harmonie building are a tribute to the Greek goddess Pallas Athena. Here she symbolizes the Faculty of Arts. Pallas Athena was in fact ascribed the qualities of intellect, courage, beauty and loyalty. She was therefore revered as the goddess of wisdom, of war and peace and of the fine arts. To emphasize her wisdom, the goddess is often depicted with an owl.

The owls are cast in polyurethane and then treated with gold leaf. Their bodies are identical, but their eyes are each a different color. With this Van Dijk wanted to symbolize individual wisdom. With the six owls sitting on the left and the six sitting owls on the right, the artist also refers to the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Law respectively, both of which are housed in the Harmonie Building. 

Not only on the square in front of the Harmonie, but also here on the wall between the Starbucks and the RUG store, Aletta Jacobs (the first female doctor graduate and the first PhD student in the Netherlands) has been given a stage. It is an enormous painting, measuring no less than 14 by 8 meters, made by Lotte Masker en Jonna Bo Lammers, who work together as VAAF (local dialect for 'paint').

Jacobs is depicted twice, young and old. In the first portrait, she is the only woman to be seen in the midst of a group of men. Unlike Jacobs, the men have no faces. This expresses that we only remember Jacobs; we have forgotten about the men.

In the second portrait, of a younger Jacobs, she wears a t-shirt that reads 'Studying is for ugly girls'. This text originates from an article that appeared in the Studenten Weekblad in 1871 (the year in which Jacobs enrolled at the RUG). In it, the author states that studying is something for ugly women. If the combative Jacobs had lived today, she might well have responded to such a statement in a playful way by wearing a t-shirt of it.

Farsi Largo / Making Space does not hide behind anything, is fully visible, but is rarely noticed by passers-by. This is because the work floats six meters above the ground. Farsi Largo stands for 'moving forward with caution' in Italian. The copper wires between the wooden figures symbolize communication between two people.

The artist was inspired by the place where people pass or stop to have a chat. It fills the atmosphere. In this way, according to the artist, the thoughts of the passers-by come into contact with the thought stream of the image.