20 Gulden Herman Boerhaave

Herman Boerhaave, the eighteenth-century Leiden physician whose influence on clinical medicine spread across Europe through his students rather than his publications, was an unusual choice for banknote portraiture — more scholar than statesman. The decision to honor him on this denomination reflects De Nederlandsche Bank's postwar effort to move away from allegorical figures toward historically grounded Dutch cultural identity.

Doeve was primarily known as a political cartoonist and illustrator, which made him an unconventional choice for Enschedé. His work on this series drew some criticism at the time for departing from the engraved formality expected of serious currency design.