Jan Theodoor Toorop (1858-1928) was a Dutch impressionist, symbolist
and art nouveau painter, illustrator and graphic designer. In 1905 converted,
to Catholicism, and themes of his work became religious and even mystic

1858

Jan Theodoor Toorop was born on December 20, in Purworedjo Java, Indonesia, from a part Javanese father and a British mother.
His names at birth were Jean Theodoor Toorop.

1863

The Toorop family moves to Banka,
a small island to the southeast of Sumatra (Indonesia)

1868

Jan Toorop is baptized in the Protestant church.

1869

He leaves Indonesia for the Netherlands,
and attends high school in the town of Leiden

1874

He attends high school in the town of Winterswijk (eastern Netherlands).

1875

Toorop moves to The Hague, and takes lessons from H.J. van der Weele.

1876

Establishment of the ‘Hollandse Teekenmaatschappij’
(Dutch Drawing Company), The Hague. Toorop gets to know painters from
the ‘Haagse School’, and works at the ‘Polytechnische School’ (Polytechnic)
in Delft, where he will remain for two years, taking lessons with P. Tétar van Elven.

1880

He visits the ‘Rijksacademie voor beeldende kunsten
(National Academy for the Arts) in Amsterdam, where he takes lessons
with August Allebé. He also works in sculpture
and crafts, and becomes friends with Jan Veth and Antoon Derkinderen.
He joins the St. Lucas Association, of which Willem Witsen is president,
and is influenced by Jules Bastien-Lepage, Edouard Manet, and James Ensor.

1882

He leaves together with Derkinderen to stay in Brussels,
where he will remain until 1886, and takes lessons with Portaels
at the Academy of Fine Arts (Ecole des Arts Décoratifs)

1883

He joins the association 'L'Essor’, where he has expositions of his works
together with other associates.
He travels to England, then lives in Malines (Belgium) with several other artists.

1884

Toorop exhibits at the Groupe des Artistes Indépendants in Paris,
and joins the group of artists called ‘Les XX’ ('Les Vingt', ‘The Twenty’) in Brussels, Belgium. He travels to England and also pays his first visit to Paris.

1885

Toorop has his first exposition. He travels to England again, meets Whistler,
discovers the Pre-Raphaelites and William Morris' views on art and socialism
and exchanges letters with Annie Hall.

1886

Toorop marries Annie Hall (British) in Knely on 12 May.
In Brussels he makes contacts with Octave Maus and Edmond Picard,
and through them meets many other artists. As the first painter in Holland,
he starts using pointillistic techniques.

1887

Toorop suffers a serious disease, becoming temporarily blind. Seurat’s painting
'Un dimanche d'été a la Grande Jatte' (‘A summer Sunday at Grande Jatte’) is on exhibition in Bruxelles. Toorop’s oldest daughter, Anne Marie, dies.
He lives in Amerongen for a short time.

1888

Toorop admires Toulouse Lautrec, and works in Elsene (Ixelles).

1889

Annie and Jan Toorop live in England for several years, where Jan
gets to know William Morris.
Toorop prepares an exhibition of works by ‘Les XX’ in Amsterdam,
together with Guillaume Vogels.

1890

Toorop lives in Katwijk for two years. He is in contact with Albert Verwey
and other members of the Dutch artist group the ‘Tachtigers’ (the Eightiers)
in Noordwijk. Henri de Groux becomes very critical of van Gogh,
Signac and Toulouse Lautrec and is therefore banished from ‘Les XX’.
At this time, Toorop develops his own version of Symbolism using elements
of Javanese aesthetics.

1891

Birth of Jan’s daughter Charley Toorop (in Katwijk),
who will become a highly talented painter, as will her son.
Toorop exhibits three sea views in the exhibition of ‘Les XX’, and his first symbolical
works are exhibited in Utrecht.
Toorop is now recognized as a fully-developed Symbolist.

1892

Toorop exhibits symbolical works by ‘Les XX’. ‘De jonge generatie’
(‘A new Generation’) is exhibited during the first show of the
'Salon de la Rose et Croix'in Paris.
He becomes a member of the Rosicrucians for a year.
Paul Verlaine and de Sâr Peladan visit the Netherlands for a series of lectures.
First one man show by Toorop in the ‘Haagse Kunstkring’
(The Hague Circle for the Arts), of which Toorop is a founder.
He finishes s series of symbolic drawings with a linear, rhythmic emphasis.

1893

'De drie bruiden' (‘The three brides’), a symbolical drawing, is shown at the ‘Etsclub’

1893 - no 2

in Amsterdam, and is bought by art dealer Van Wisselingh.
His drawings of this year are typical of Art Nouveau.

1894

'Les XX' becomes 'La Libre Esthétique', and exhibits Toorop’s
'Verlangen en Bevrediging' (Desire and Satisfaction; Louvre, Paris).
Toorop has his own exhibit in the Museum ‘De Lakenhal’ in Leiden.
The newly founded English art periodical "The Studio" illustrates some of his work.

1895

This is a very important phase in Toorop’s dry needle art;
he makes commercial artworks and posters.

1896 - 1897

Toorop makes a series of book-covers.

1897

Toorop stays in Domburg (Zeeland) for the summer,
where he will return for the next 20 years.

1898

Toorop has important exhibits outside the Netherlands,
in München (Germany), Dresden (Germany) and Copenhagen (Denmark),
among other cities.

1899

Toorop returns to the town of Katwijk, where he remains in residence until 1904,
in a house built by the well-known architect Berlage.
He works regularly in the town of Domburg,
but also lives at several addresses in The Hague.

1900

Toorop has an exhibition in Vienna (Austria) at the 'Secession'.

1902

Toorop finds success with his exhibit at ‘Secession’,
but has problems in his personal life.

1903

Toorop finishes his famous ‘Tableaux’ in ceramics for the stock market building (Beurs) in Amsterdam.

1904

Lives in a house in the ‘Vossiusstraat’ in Amsterdam,
where he entertains many guests, including Pablo Casals and Eugéne Isaye.

1905

After a long period of preparation, Toorop converts to Roman Catholicism,
and changes his first name to Johannes. He stays in Domburg for much of his time.
Themes of his art become religious and even mystic.
His style simplified and he adopted a technique close to Pointillism.

1906

Finishes many portraits in the divisionistic style.

1907

Toorop finishes his last works in the pointillist-divisionist style.

1908

Toorop moves to the town of Nijmegen, Barbarossastraat 131.

1910

Travels to Ireland; finishes many drawings and a few paintings.

1913

Toorop meets Miek Janssen,
with whom he will remain close friends for the rest of his life.

1914

Toorop is very much impressed by misery of the fugitives from Belgium,
escaping the destruction of World War I.
He uses this theme in many of his drawings.
He finishes a series of portraits (drawings) of Miek Janssen.

1916

Toorop moves from Nijmegen to The Hague, Van Merlestraat 124.
He starts work on the 14 stations of the cross for the way of the cross
in the Church of St. Bernulphus in the town of Oosterbeek.
He writes many letters to Anthony Nolet, with whom he had become
friends when living in Nijmegen.

1917

Works at various places on the stations of the cross;
the last stations were difficult to finish because of Toorop’s
ill health and partial paralysis.

1918

Jan Toorop’s 60th birthday is celebrated widely.
He has an exhibit at the art dealership 'Kleykamp' in The Hague.

1919

The stations of the cross are dedicated.
Toorop travels with the author Arthur van Schendel and Miek Janssen
to Lourdes (France).

1920

He has to stay in his wheelchair almost continuously
because his left leg has become paralyzed.
He works hard, mainly drawings and graphics in order to promote catholicism.

1921

Finishes many portraits

1923

Toorop designs the 2 cent postage stamp

1926

He considers his large work 'De Pelgrim' (“The Pilgrim’) one of his most important creations.

1927

Toorop’s last self portrait (with cross) is an enormously powerful work of art

1928

Jan Toorop dies on the 3d of March in The Hague.