Unused postcard - Pub: Het Hllandsche Uitgevershuis, Amsterdam - Illustration by Jan Toorop 1920
Johannes Theodorus 'Jan’ Toorop (1858-1928) was a Dutch-Indonesian painter, who worked in various styles, including Symbolism, Art Nouveau, and Pointillism. Born on 20 December 1858 in Indonesia, he left in 1869 for the Netherlands, where he studied in Delft and Amsterdam. In 1880 he became a student at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam. From 1882 to 1886 he lived in Brussels where he joined Les XX (Les Vingts), a group of artists centred on James Ensor. In the late 19th century Toorop lived for 20 years in a small house on the market in the seaside town Domburg, Walcheren, Zeeland. After 1900 he turned to Art Nouveau styles, in which a similar play of lines is used for decorative purposes, without any apparent symbolic meaning. In 1905, he converted to Catholicism and began producing religious works. He also created book illustrations, posters, and stained glass designs. He died in the Hague on 3 March 1928.