As the daughter of artist Josephus Augustus Knip, Henriëtte received rigorous artistic training from her father, despite his partial blindness. Her early works focused on nature scenes and rural life, and she gained recognition by exhibiting in various salons from 1836 onward.
In 1850, after marrying Feico Ronner, Henriëtte moved to Brussels, where she specialised in depicting dog carts, dogs, and later, long-haired cats in bourgeois interiors. These cat scenes, known for their rich detail and narrative quality, became her signature works.
Henriëtte also created portraits of animals for royalty, including Queen Maria Hendrika. She meticulously documented her work and was remembered for her distinctive presence, which was likened to that of composer Franz Liszt.
Her paintings are housed in several prestigious museums, including: Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum, Rijksprentenkabinet, and the University of Amsterdam; Antwerp: Royal Museum of Fine Arts; Brussels: Museum of Elsene and the Royal Collection; The Hague: Gemeentemuseum and the Stichting Historische Verzamelingen of the House of Orange-Nassau; Dordrecht, Haarlem, Leiden, Maaseik, Mons, Haastrecht, Rotterdam, Stirling (GB), and Oudenaarde.
Her work also features in the collections of the Cornelis Ploos van Amstel-Knoef Society in Amsterdam and the Royal Collection in London. She was admired by European royalty, including the King of Portugal, Kaiser Wilhelm I, and the Countess of Flanders, Marie von Hohenzollern.
Her legacy lives on through her beloved animal paintings, with streets in Amsterdam and Leiden named in her honour.
