Jacob meyer de haan gauguin biography

HAAN, MEIJER DE (also Meijer Jacob, Meijer Isaac ; 1852–1895), Dutch painter. De Haan was born in Amsterdam, where his father ran a flourishing biscuit factory. After having initially joined his two brothers in the family business, Meijer started studying painting under the Dutch academician Petrus Franciscus Greive from 1870 on. Because of his poor health, he was not able to complete his artistic education. During this period he worked in a somewhat academic style, painting portraits and choosing some Jewish subjects as well, as in The Talmudic Dispute (1878) and Dietary Laws (1880; also referred to as Is This Chicken Kosher?). Deeply disappointed by the poor response to his major opus, Uriel d'Acosta, on which he struggled for 10 years, he left for Paris in 1888 together with his student J.J. Isaacson. Through Vincent van Gogh's brother, Theo, Meijer de Haan met Gauguin, whom he accompanied to Brittany in 1889, where they worked together for almost two years in Le Pouldu and Pont Aven. De Haan became Gauguin's faithful student, making it possible for his idol to carry out his artistic experiments without disturbance by supporting him financially. Although he himself was influenced by Gauguin's synthetic style and incorporated some of his motifs and arrangements, De Haan adhered to his own inclination towards contrast of light and darkness and true-to-nature colors. When Gauguin wanted to take his friend on a journey of adventure to Tahiti, De Haan's family intervened and threatened to stop his allowance if he continued his association with Gauguin. In 1890 De Haan returned to Amsterdam and, after a short stay in Paris eventually settled in Hattem, Netherlands, in 1891. Until recently little attention was paid to De Haan beyond noting that his pathetic likeness appears in several of Gauguin's works, but research has revealed De Haan as one of Gauguin's most talented disciples. His works figure in several museum collections, e.g., th

Dutch painter

Meijer Isaac de Haan (Amsterdam, 14 April 1852 – Amsterdam, 24 October 1895) was a Dutch painter. In French the name was written Meyer de Haan.

Biography

He was born into a successful Jewish family of bread and matzo bakers who held to conservative views of religion, music and art. His maternal grandfather was a rich fabric merchant who owned several residential buildings.

An interest in fine art brought him to apprentice with the painter Petrus Franciscus Greive. In 1874, he was accepted into the Rijksacademie van beeldende kunsten at Amsterdam, but performed poorly. In 1880, one of his works was exhibited at the Paris Salon of that year. That same year, an illustration of de Haan's picture Een moeilijke plaats in de Talmoed appeared in the newspaper Eigen Haard, which generated much published discussion (not so much aesthetic as theological). He enjoyed some success in the Netherlands as a painter of Jewish genre works. In Amsterdam de Haan painted portraits and took on several pupils, including Joseph Jacob Isaacson, Louis Hartz and Baruch Lopes Leão de Laguna.

De Haan remained in Amsterdam until 1888, where he produced chiefly portraiture, and representations of working class Jews. His early work was inspired above all by the masters of the Dutch school, such as David Teniers and Rembrandt. The example of 17th century painting is reflected in his history painting of 1877–1888, Uriel Acosta. The critic I.N. Stemming (nom de plume of the painting Maurits van der Valk) disparaged the painting as "nothing more than a desiccated memory of Rembrandt and Munkaczy." De Haan had toiled for ten years on this magnum opus, which showed the rabbinical judgment against the 17th century Jewish philosopher Uriel Acosta over his opinion about the immortality of the soul. The displeasure the painting ignited in orthodox Jewish circles drove Meyer de Haan to leave for Paris in October 1888 with a monthly allowance from his fam

This study is an important part of this series of works made at this juncture of Gauguin’s life and the episode and works he made during his stay at Le Pouldu with De Haan would have a lasting  influence on his future work. De Haan was in fact set to travel with him to Tahiti in 1891, but ill health prevented him.  

On April 4th 1891, Gauguin set sail for Tahiti from Marseille. In Tahiti, the artist continued his research on colours, developing a harmonisation of colours that completed the signification of symbols in paintings. The tones merged or opposed themselves in rhythm, leading to a symphonic of various elements. In this context of exploration his works on paper became rarer, the artist favouring the immediacy of painting and its symbolic strength.

However, The Le Pouldu story continued. It was to become an ongoing saga for Gauguin on his return from Tahiti, and he became embroiled in a legal battle in 1894 to recover the artworks he had been obliged to leave with Marie Henry (owing her rent). Whilst there, he was assaulted one evening whilst out with friends and was left unable to paint for some months. In defeat, having lost the case, unable to retrieve his works which included many paintings and drawings, he could only think about returning to his Nirvana.