Jan Toorop (1858-1928)Jan (actually Jean Theodoor) Toorop was born in Purworejo on Java. From 1872 onwards, he lived in the Netherlands and in 1880 became a student at the State Academy in Amsterdam. From 1882 until 1886 he lived in Brussels, where he joined 'Les Vingts', a group of progressive Belgian artists centred around James Ensor. Toorop worked in various different styles during these years, such as Realism, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. After his marriage to the English Annie Hall in 1886, Toorop alternated his time between The Hague, England and Brussels and after 1890 also the Dutch seaside town of Katwijk aan Zee. During this period he developed his own unique Symbolist style, with dynamic, unpredictable lines. |
