Meijer de Haan
Meijer de Haan was a Dutch Post-Impressionist artist who lived from 1852 to 1895.
De Haan was born in Amsterdam to a wealthy Jewish family. He suffered from tuberculosis his whole life, which stunted his growth. He developed a hunchback, and his final height was just 4 foot 11 inches. He began taking art classes, eventually getting his own students. As a member of the artists’ society in Amsterdam, Arti et Amitciae, in both 1879 and 1880, de Haan was able to exhibit his work at the Paris Salon.
In 1888, de Haan moved to Paris to further his art education. He lived with Theo Van Gogh, the art dealer and brother of Vincent Van Gogh for several months. He occupied the same room in the apartment once lived in by Vincent. Theo introduced de Haan to many people, including his brother, Vincent, Paul Gauguin, and Camille Pissarro. His work soon became lighter in color, with much less formal subject matters. After seeing the success of his fellow artists working in the Impressionist style, de Haan was inspired to give it a try.
Meijer de Haan struck up a friendship with Gauguin. In 1889, Gaugin and de Haan moved to an inn in Le Pouldu, Brittany, run by a woman named Marie Henry with whom de Haan had an affair. De Haan paid to support Gaugin in exchange for art lessons. While in Brittany, Gaugin and de Haan painted large murals on the walls, ceilings, and doors of Marie Henry’s inn. These paintings were wallpapered over in the 1920s but have since been restored.
Marie Henry had a daughter, presumably belonging to de Haan. De Haan left France soon after to return home to Amsterdam, never to return to France. It is believed that his brother may have cut off his stipend, forcing him to return home. De Haan died in 1895 at just 43 years of age and left every painting that he created while in France to Marie Henry.
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