Johannes Theodorus 'Jan' TooropJan Toorop

Netherlands Institute for Art History The Netherlands Institute for Art History or RKD (Dutch: RKD-Nederlands Instituut voor Kunstgeschiedenis), previously Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), is located in The Hague and is home to the largest art history center i ...

, 2014. Retrieved on 18 February 2015. (; 20 December 1858 – 3 March 1928) was a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

, who worked in various styles, including

Symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: Arts * Symbolism (arts), a 19th-century movement rejecting Realism ** Symbolist movement in Romania, symbolist literature and visual arts in Romania during the late 19th and early 20th centuries ** Russian sy ...

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

, and

Pointillism Pointillism (, ) is a technique of painting in which small, distinct dots of color are applied in patterns to form an image. Georges Seurat and Paul Signac developed the technique in 1886, branching from Impressionism. The term "Pointillism" wa ...

. His early work was influenced by the

Amsterdam Impressionism Amsterdam Impressionism was an art movement in late 19th-century Holland. It is associated especially with George Hendrik Breitner and is also known as the ''School of Allebé''. The innovative ideas about painting of the French Impressionists w ...

movement.

Biography

Johannes Theodorus Toorop was born on 20 December 1858 in

Purworejo Purworejo is a regency ( id, kabupaten) in the southern part of Central Java province in Indonesia. It covers an area of 1,034.82 km2 and had a population of 695,427 at the 2010 Census and 769,880 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate ...

on the island of

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's List ...

in the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

(present-day

). His father was Christoffel Theodorus Toorop, a civil servant, and his mother was Maria Magdalena Cooke. B. H. Spaanstra-Polak
Toorop, Jean Theodoor (1858–1928)
''Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland'', 2013. Retrieved on 18 February 2015. He was the third of five children and lived on the island of Bangka near

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

until he was nine years old.Johannes (Jan) Theodoor Toorop
''Biografisch Woordenboek Gelderland'', 2004. Retrieved on 18 February 2015. He was then sent to school in

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

on Java.

In 1869 he left Indonesia for the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, where he studied in

Delft Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...

and

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. In 1880 he became a student at the

Rijksakademie The Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten (State Academy of Fine Arts) was founded in 1870 in Amsterdam. It is a classical academy, a place where philosophers, academics and artists meet to test and exchange ideas and knowledge. The school support ...

in Amsterdam. He met the Belgian painter

William Degouve de Nuncques William Degouve de Nuncques (also Nunques) was a Belgian painter, born 28 February 1867 and died 1 March 1935. He was associated with the symbolist movement although he is occasionally referred to as a postimpressionist. He is best known for his ...

in 1883 and the two shared a studio for a time and developed a strong friendship.Delevoy, Robert L. (1978) Symbolists and Symbolism. Skira/Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., New York, 230 pp. From 1882 to 1886 he lived in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

where he joined

Les XX ''Les XX'' ( French; "''Les Vingt''"; ; ) was a group of twenty Belgian painters, designers and sculptors, formed in 1883 by the Brussels lawyer, publisher, and entrepreneur Octave Maus. For ten years, they held an annual exhibition of their ar ...

(Les Vingts), a group of artists centred on

James Ensor James Sidney Edouard, Baron Ensor (13 April 1860 – 19 November 1949) was a Belgian painter and printmaker, an important influence on expressionism and surrealism who lived in Ostend for most of his life. He was associated with the artistic g ...

. Toorop worked in various styles during these years, such as

Realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

Neo-Impressionism Neo-Impressionism is a term coined by French art critic Félix Fénéon in 1886 to describe an art movement founded by Georges Seurat. Seurat's most renowned masterpiece, ''A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte'', marked the beginnin ...

and

Post-Impressionism Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction ag ...

After his marriage to Annie Hall, a British woman, in 1886, Toorop alternated his time between

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

, England and Brussels, and after 1890 also the Dutch seaside town of

Katwijk aan Zee Katwijk aan Zee (literally, ''Katwijk-upon-Sea'') is a seaside resort located on the North Sea at the mouth of the Oude Rijn. It is situated in the municipality of Katwijk and the province of South Holland. History The Origin till the Gol ...

. During this period he developed his unique Symbolist style, with dynamic, unpredictable lines based on Javanese motifs, highly stylised willowy figures, and curvilinear designs. In the late 19th century (in 1897) Toorop lived for 20 years in a small house on the market in the seaside town

Domburg Domburg is a seaside resort on the North Sea, on the northwest coast of Walcheren in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is a part of the municipality of Veere, and lies about 11 km northwest of the city of Middelburg, the provincial capital ...

, Walcheren, Zeeland. He worked with a group of fellow artists, including

Marinus Zwart Marinus may refer to: *Marinus (crater), a crater on the Moon *Marinus (given name), for people named Marinus *Dr. Marinus, a recurring character in the novels of David Mitchell See also *''The Keys of Marinus ''The Keys of Marinus'' is the ...

and

Piet Mondrian Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (), after 1906 known as Piet Mondrian (, also , ; 7 March 1872 – 1 February 1944), was a Dutch painter and art theoretician who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He is known for being ...

. There was no joint endeavor or common style among them. Each followed his individual personality, but they sought their inspiration in "the Zeeland Light", in the dunes, forests, beaches and the characteristic Zeeland population. Toorop was the center of this group. His 1900 novel portrait of his friend Marie Jeanette de Lange was made whilst she was not wearing fashionable (restrictive) clothing and it was in the style of

. Thereafter he turned to

styles, in which a similar play of lines is used for decorative purposes, without any apparent symbolic meaning. In 1905, he converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and began producing religious works. He also created book illustrations, posters, and stained glass designs. Throughout his life Toorop also produced portraits, in sketch format and as paintings, which range in style from highly realistic to impressionistic. Toorop died on 3 March 1928 in

in the Netherlands. His daughter

Charley Toorop Charley Toorop (24 March 1891 – 5 November 1955) was a Dutch painter and lithographer. Her full name was Annie Caroline Pontifex Fernhout-Toorop. Life Charley Toorop was born in Katwijk. She was the daughter of Jan Toorop and Annie Hall. ...

(1891–1955) was also a painter, as was his grandson

Edgar Fernhout Edgar Richard Johannes Fernhout (August 17, 1912 - 4 November 1974) was a Dutch painter. Life Fernhout was born in Bergen, North Holland. He was the son of the artist Annie Caroline Pontifex "Charley" Toorop and the philosopher Henk Fernhout ...

Public collections

Among the public collections holding works by Jan Toorop are: *

Museum de Fundatie Museum de Fundatie () is a museum for the visual arts in Zwolle, Netherlands. Museum de Fundatie forms part of the Hannema-de Stuers Foundation, to which Kasteel het Nijenhuis in Heino also belongs. Museum de Fundatie possesses a collection of vis ...

Zwolle Zwolle () is a city and municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Overijssel and the province's second-largest municipality after Enschede with a population of 130,592 as of 1 December 2021. Zwolle is o ...

Kröller-Müller Museum The Kröller-Müller Museum () is a national art museum and sculpture garden, located in the Hoge Veluwe National Park in Otterlo in the Netherlands. The museum, founded by art collector Helene Kröller-Müller within the extensive grounds of her ...

Works

Annie Hall te Lissadell, Surrey Rijksmuseum SK-C-1666.jpeg, ''Portrait of Annie Toorop-Hall'' (1885) JanToorop-trio-fleuri-1886.jpg, ''Trio fleuri'' (1886) The Sea 1887 Jan Toorop.jpg, ''The Sea'' (1887) File:1887 Toorop Na de werkstaking anagoria.JPG, ''After the Strike'' ( 1888–1890) Toorop-broek.jpg, ''

Broek in Waterland Broek in Waterland is a village in the province of North Holland, Netherlands with a population of about 2,745 inhabitants as of 2021. It is a part of the municipality of Waterland, and is situated about 8 km south of Purmerend and 8 k ...

'' (1889) File:1889 Toorop Brug in Londen anagoria.JPG, ''Bridge in London'' (1889) File:Jan Toorop - The New Generation - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The New Generation'' (1892) File:Toorop, De drie bruiden, 78x98 non bruid helbruid.jpg, ''The Three Brides'' (1893) File:1900 Toorop Dr. Timmermann anagoria.JPG, ''The connoisseur of prints (Dr. Aegidius Timmermann)'' (1900) Jan Toorop - Portret van Marie Jeanette de Lange 001.JPG, ''Portrait of Marie Jeanette de Lange'' (1900) File:De schelpenvisser Rijksmuseum SK-A-3349.jpeg, ''The Shell Fisher'' (1904) File:Dunes and sea in Zoutelande, by Jan Toorop.jpg, ''Dunes and sea in Zoutelande'' (1907) File:Jan Toorop - The Schelde near Veere - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The Schelde near Veere'' (1907) Johann Heinrich Schrörs (1852-1928), by Jan Toorop.jpg, ''Portrait of Johann Heinrich Schrörs'' (1911) File:Otto Lanz.jpg, ''Portrait of Otto Lanz'' (1927) File:Toorop-self.jpg, Self-portrait (1927) Delftsche Slaolie.jpeg, ''Delftsche Slaolie'' elft Salad Oil(1893) VrouwenarbeidLoten.jpg, Poster for lottery tickets for the ''Tentoonstelling van Vrouwenarbeid'', The Hague (1898) Psyche.jpg, Book cover (1916) of ''Psyche'' (1898), a fairy tale written by

Louis Couperus Louis Marie-Anne Couperus (10 June 1863 – 16 July 1923) was a Dutch novelist and poet. His oeuvre contains a wide variety of genres: lyric poetry, psychological and historical novels, novellas, short stories, fairy tales, feuilletons and ske ...

File:Levensverzekeringsmaatschappij Arnhem.jpeg, ''Levensverzekering-maatschappij Arnhem'' rnhem Life Insurance Company(1900)

References

Sources

* Victorine Hefting: ''Jan Toorop. 18 February-9 April 1989, Haags Gemeentemuseum, The Hague''. Forew. by Robert de Haas; transl. by Patricia Wardle. The Hague, Haags Gemeentemuseum, 1989.

External links

Jan Toorop Research Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toorop, Jan Art Nouveau painters Dutch Impressionist painters Dutch people of Indonesian descent Dutch people of British descent People from Central Java Post-impressionist painters Symbolist painters 1858 births 1928 deaths Indo people Delft University of Technology alumni People from Purworejo Regency Dutch Roman Catholics Dutch stamp designers