Torop, Jan

Born in 1858 in Java in an Indonesian-Dutch family. Since 1869, the family lived in the Netherlands. Torop studied at school first in Leiden , then in Winterswijk , since 1875 in The Hague , where he met with representatives of the Hague school of painting , which differs in a realistic direction. For two years, Thorop studied at the Delft University of Technology , while at the same time in Delft he took painting lessons from Paul Tetar van Elven . Then he attended the State Academy of Fine Arts in Amsterdam for two years, and since 1882 he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels .

Torop remained in Belgium until 1886 , visiting England, where he met Whistler and studied the work of the Pre-Raphaelites , which made a deep impression on him. He also visited Paris for the first time, at that time actually the main world art center. In Belgium, Torop was greatly influenced by the work of the symbolist James Ensor . May 12, 1886 Torop married the Englishwoman Annie Hall. In the same year they moved to England, and in 1890 to the Netherlands ( Katwijk aan Zee ). In 1890, the daughter of Charlie was born, in the future a famous artist.

In the late 1880s, Thorop painted paintings in the style of pointillism and became the first Dutch artist to use this technique. In the Netherlands, he joined the Noordwijk- based art group Eighty Decades ( Dutch de Tachtigers ). Gradually, however, he shifted to symbolism . In 1892, he joined the Rosicrucian community. In the same year, the first solo exhibition was held in The Hague, at which only symbolist works were exhibited, the main characters of which, obviously, were created under the influence of the traditional art of the theater of Indonesia . In 1893 he wrote his most famous work in the style of symbolism, “Three Brides”.

From symbolism Torop gradually moves to Art Nouveau . In 1895, he completed his first woodcut, later on graphics and illustrations occupied a significant place in his work. In 1898, he is already an internationally recognized artist, his solo exhibitions are held in Munich , Dresden and Copenhagen , in 1900 he is exhibited in Vienna at the Secession .

From 1899 to 1904, Torop lived in Katwijk, then from 1904 in Amsterdam . In the summer, he traveled for several months to Domburg in the province of Zealand . In 1905, Torop, a former Protestant from childhood, converted to Catholicism, and most of the time after that he lived in Domburg. After 1905, his work is characterized by the theme of religious symbolism, and his works are made in a style close to pointillism. The latest work in pointillist style dates back to 1907 . From 1908, Torop lived in Nijmegen, from 1916 until his death in The Hague. In 1916, he began work on fourteen stations of the procession of carrying the Cross for the Catholic Church of St. Bernulf in Osterbeck , a suburb of Nijmegen. In 1917, he was partially paralyzed, but still completed the stations, which were consecrated in 1919 . In recent years, Jan Torop has been confined to a wheelchair. In 1923, he made a sketch of a two-cent postage stamp. In recent years, he practically did not paint in oil, creating only graphic works and watercolors. Thorop died on March 3, 1928 in The Hague.

In many cities of the Netherlands, including The Hague and Amsterdam, there are streets of Jan Torop ( Dutch: Jan Tooropstraat ).

• Jan Toorop Research Center