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ART “4”
“2”-DAY 20 December
v.6.b0 |
| BIRTH:
1858 TOOROP |
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Born on 20 December 1858: Jan Theodoor Toorop,
Dutch Symbolist
painter who died on 03 March 1928. — {Vous ne trouvez pas qu'il y a des
O de Trop dans son nom?} — Relative? of Charley Toorop [1891-1955]? — Born in Java, he studied art in Delft and Amsterdam. A grant allowed him to study in Brussels, where he came into contact with the XX group, and became a member in 1885. He befriended Khnopff, Ensor, and de Groux. In 1886, he met Whistler in London. He discovered the Pre-Raphaelites and William Morris' views on art and socialism. In 1890 he developed his own version of Symbolism using elements of a Javanese aesthetic. He met Péladan in 1892. In 1905 converted to Catholicism. His themes thereafter became religious and even mystic. His style simplified and he adopted a technique close to Pointillisme, which he put at the service of a fragmentation of the surface of the painting at poles from the measured unity to which Seurat aspired. These fragmentary surfaces relate Toorop to Expressionism. — Born in Indonesia, Toorop studied in Amsterdam at the Rijksakademie and also at the Brussels Academy, where he joined Les Vingt when Ensor and Khnopff were members. He lived for a time in England before returning to Holland. He organized the first Dutch show of van Gogh in 1892. He continued through Neo-Impressionism, Symbolism, and even made some works that recall van Gogh's Potato Eaters style; many of his later paintings were commissions from the Catholic Church. He was a major figure in Dutch art, and reproductions of his works hung in middle-class homes. Toorop's works now look to have been a succession of extremes. Perhaps the most charming to present tastes are his Neo-Impressionist dune-and-sea studies; only grasses and gulls anchor the soft-color dots of paint to a landscape reality. But more breathtaking, for some, are the highly decorative Symbolist works such as Song of Good Tidings (1893), a scene of mythological figures in a stylized landscape in which the linear effects of hair and clouds continue onto the broad, flat surfaces of the frames. — He moved to the Netherlands in 1872 and took a course in drawing at the Polytechnische School in Delft (1876–1879). He also studied at the Rijksakademie voor Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam (1880–1882) and at the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs in Brussels (1882–1885). In Amsterdam he joined the St. Lukas Society, and in Belgium he was, in 1884, a founder-member of Les XX, whose purpose was to bypass the jury system of the official Brussels Salon and organize their own exhibitions. Local critics nicknamed these neoimpressionists “Les Bubonnistes,” decrying what they saw as a plague descending on traditional art. But the avant-garde in France coveted invitations to exhibit at their annual shows. Van Gogh expressed surprise when asked to join them in 1890: “I should like to exhibit with them very much, though I'm conscious of my inferiority by the side of so many tremendously talented Belgians.” Although Toorop had met Jozef Israëls in 1880 and respected the style of the Hague school, he was more attracted by what he saw in Brussels, particularly work by French artists. His portraits of 1884 are painted in an Impressionist style. With other members of Les XX he trained himself in plein-air; he learnt from James Ensor how to apply colors with a palette knife and how to use white with the same intensity as other colors. His style, however, remained austere and his scenes of workmen show a sensitive realism reminiscent of Gustave Courbet’s work, for example Respect for the Dead (1884). “Charley” Annie Caroline Pontifex Toorop Fernhout [24 March 1891 – 06 Nov 1955] was the daughter of Jan Toorop. — 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 centered 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. After his period of highly stylised Symbolist drawings and paintings, Toorop turned to Art Nouveau. In the drawings and posters which he produced, such as the Salad Oil poster, the same play of lines can be seen as in his Symbolist paintings, but then solely for decorative purposes, without any symbolic meaning. — Around the turn of the century Dutch artists became increasingly aware of developments abroad. The initiator of these internationalising tendencies was the painter Jan Toorop, who moved to Belgium in the 1880‘s where he became a member of the artist group Les Vingts. This contact introduced him to the newest tendencies in art. One of these was the neo-impressionism of the French painters Signac and Seurat, and their related technique, divisionism, which would later become very popular in the Netherlands. Back in Holland in the 1880‘s, Toorop introduced the French artists and styles. During these years his own work was undergoing far-reaching changes due to his experiments with light. As a result he became a great source of inspiration to the younger generation of Dutch artists, such as Jan Sluijters, Leo Gestel and Piet Mondriaan. — William Degouve de Nuncques and Jacoba van Heemskerck van Beest were students of Toorop. — LINKS — Self-Portrait in the Studio (1883, 50x36cm; 724x510pix, 83kb) _ Toorop gazes mistrustfully from beneath his wide-brimmed hat. His eyes are obscured by the shadow of the brim, which makes him seem even more reserved. He is seated at a table in his studio, working on a watercolor. A broken plate serves as a palette. In portraying himself in this fashion, dressed ‘artistically’ and seated in the untidy studio, Toorop emphasizes his role as a non-conformist bohemian artist. — O grave, where is thy Victory (1892 drawing, 60x75cm) _ Dreamlike drawing in which two angels are removing thorns from a corpse coveted by the forces of Evil, on the right. Toorop's characteristic flowing curved lines express good, the broken lines evil. Two angels are removing thorns from a corpse coveted by the forces of Evil, on the right. The curved lines express good, the broken lines evil. An enigmatic depiction with whimsical trees and two mysterious women with slim, elegant bodies and flowing hair. The women, modern angels as it were, pull away the thorny boughs growing over a dying (or dead) man. The man lies beside an open grave, his legs hanging limply over the side. The three threatening personages make fists and stretch their claw-like hands towards him. Toorop explained that these strange characters are the earthly passions of the dying figure: Resentment, Envy, Jealousy, Hate, Love and Conflict. They are trying to hold on to the dying person. The two women, on the other hand, are trying to free him from earthly life and earthly suffering, symbolised here by the branches of thorns. at their feet (right) The title is taken from the Bible: O Death, where is thy sting? O Grave, where is thy Victory? The text is found in 1 Corinthians 15:55. Presumably, Toorop read the text in the Bible owned by his English wife Annie Hall, whom he married in 1886. It is a good example of his symbolist work. It shows no objective depiction of reality but rather an image filled with dreams, visions and emotions. — Poster for Delftsche Slaolie (1894, 95x54cm; 975x688pix, 714kb _ ZOOM to 1600x1044pix, 480kb) _ Toorop became especially known for his posters, like this one. The best-known example of Dutch Art Nouveau is this poster designed by Jan Toorop Delft Salad Oil. This litho was printed in various color combinations: red-brown or purple with yellow-green and black with yellow, as here. The heading makes it clear that the subject is salad oil, as do the bottles on either side of the text. Underneath are the crowned arms of the manufacturer, with a decorative pattern using peanuts on the left. The larger part of the poster is taken up by two female figures with long hair and long gowns. One sits and dresses salad in a large dish; the other lifts her gaze and hands upwards. In this way Toorop elevates preparing salad to the level of an almost mystic rite. Not a centimeter is left uncovered in the decorative design. The most striking aspect of this poster is the graceful pattern formed by the lines of the clothes and hair. Their wavy movement is characteristic of Art Nouveau or Jugendstil, a style which was popular in Europe about from 1890 to 1910. In the Netherlands Art Nouveau was also known as the 'salad oil style' after Toorop's poster. Toorop worked in various styles, such as realism and Impressionism, but he was particularly fascinated by Symbolism. Symbolist artists did not aspire to represent reality objectively. Symbolism is subjective: mysticism and religion play a role and so do personal feelings, dreams and visions. Toorop's drawing O Grave, where is thy Victory, for example, is about life and death, envy, hate and love. The sinuous, restless lines and marked stylization and distortion are typical. The same linear patterns characterize Toorop's Art Nouveau work. The symbolic significance is lost by then: the line has become a purely decorative surface covering. Woman was one of Toorop's favorite themes, especially in his Symbolist years. In his graphic work the figure of the young, innocent girl recurs frequently, now with her eyes cast down, now looking up. Through this girl he alludes to a higher spiritual life. These women in the salad oil poster together form a curious combination of the mystical and the everyday. The model for the woman was probably the artist's sister-in-law Janet Hall. She is also seen in other lithos, such as Dolce (1896). The Industrial Revolution led to an increase in the number of manufacturers in the nineteenth century. There was greater competition and companies began to use advertising to establish a distinct identity. Lithography was invented in 1796 and color lithos, in which a separate stone was used for each color, began to appear as early as the first half of the nineteenth century. Lithos were often used for advertising posters and this stimulated the development of the new technique. Artists such as Toulouse-Lautrec (e.g. Moulin Rouge - La Goulue) and Toorop made celebrated contributions to this new form of applied art. — The Sea (1887, 86x96cm) _ Here, Jan Toorop has painted the sea at Katwijk on the Dutch coast in an original way. We can only see the water with the waves rolling in, the foaming surf and a small piece of sky. No boat or bird distracts our attention from the main subject: the sea itself, rendered in wonderful nuances of color, from mauve and light green to yellow and blue-gray. Toorop has painted an almost abstract image which leads the spectator's eye across the restless waves to the peaceful horizon. The waves form a regular horizontal pattern. Toorop has used a palette knife to apply the paint thickly. He adopted this technique from the Belgian painter James Ensor, whom Toorop often met during the years he lived in Brussels (1882-1886). In 1886, Toorop returned to the Netherlands and went to live in The Hague. He also stayed in Katwijk for a few years and regularly spent the summers in Domburg, both on the Dutch coast. After moving to The Hague, the sea became a recurring theme in his work. This picture is one of his first sea paintings and the most pure, depicting only sea. Other works show the sea or the beach in combination with ships or people, as for instance in The Shellfish Gatherer {NOT The Selfish Gatherer}. The Sea has been painted in an Impressionist manner: a quick impression using loose paint marks. Toorop worked for a time in this style, though also experimented with other styles such as Pointillism Pointillism and Realism (for example Mauvais salaire). He was open to the new innovative ideas of his contemporaries and used these in his own work. In the 1890s he mainly made work with mystical, symbolic subjects, such as O Grave, Where is Thy Victory. This picture, with its many curls and wavy lines, also relates to Art Nouveau. Toorop used this style for advertising posters such as his famous one for Delftsche slaolie (Delft salad oil). — A New Generation (1892; 160kb) — The Three Brides (1893, 78x98cm; 600x744pix, 111kb _ ZOOM to 2045x2536pix, 501kb) monochrome — The Song of the Time (1893, 32x58cm; 532x800pix, 121kb _ ZOOM to 1702x2560pix, 459kb) monochrome –- S*>#Leidsegracht, Amsterdam (624x841pix, 143kb) –- S*>#Vruchten Tegen Landschap (656x961pix, 155kb) –- S*>#Gewijde Muziek (1923; 841x846pix, 134kb) –- S*>#Zeeuwze Meisjes (732x961pix, 158kb) –- S*>#Comunie Meisje (841x482pix, 85kb) monochrome tan –- S*>#Miek Janssen Mediterend in Domburg (669x841pix, 113kb) sketchy –- S*>#Stigmata (1922, 36x23cm; 1326x841pix, 278kb) –- S*>#Sailing Boats Passing Under a Bridge (544x841pix, 78kb) sketchy –- S*>#Gezicht op Oostvoorne met het Badpaviljoen (618x841pix, 98kb) –- S*>#Thirsty for Justice (900x764pix, 137kb) –- Étang a Domburg (1908, 36x23cm; 828x1020pix, 214kb _ .ZOOM to 1657x2040pix, 795kb) Divisionist technique (i.e. painted in sloppy dabs, much bigger than those of the pointillistes) _ During the first decade of the 20th century Toorop spent many summers at the fashionable seaside village Domburg. He designed and built a small pavilion which could be used as an exhibition gallery and where his work and that of colleague artists was shown each summer. The island atmosphere, the wide views and intensive light attracted many artists to Domburg. Toorop worked very close with Mondrian during these years. They worked with a similar Divisionist technique that can also be seen in this work, painted with broad, sloppy brushstrokes, the touches set side by side in natural colors. The structure and the composition of Étang a Domburg resembles that of Mondrian‘s work of that time, the whole being highly elementary {i.e. similar to what an elementary school student might paint?}. — Toorop web site –- Le Passeur d'eau (1895) _ A book illustration for the poem of Émile Verhaeren [21 May 1855 – 27 Nov 1916]: |
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