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 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. During the first decade of the 20th century Toorop spent many summers at the seaside village Domburg. He designed 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 Mondriaan during these years. Painted in 1908, Etang a Domburg is depicted with broad, bold brushstrokes, the touches set side by side in bright, cheerful and natural colours. The structure and the composition of Etang a Domburg resembles that of Mondriaan´s work of that time, the whole being highly elementary