author
Jacobus van Looy
1855–1930
Raised in hardship and remembered for both his paintings and his prose, this Dutch artist moved easily between canvas and page. His work is often noted for the close link it shows between visual art and literature in the late 19th century.
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About the author
Born in Haarlem in 1855, Jacobus van Looy was a Dutch painter and writer whose life began under difficult circumstances. After losing his parents as a child, he grew up in the municipal orphanage in Haarlem, an experience often mentioned in accounts of his early life.
Van Looy became known as one of those rare figures who were seriously respected in two arts at once. Reference works describe him as both a painter and an author, and note how strongly he represented the bond between art and literature in his era.
He died in Haarlem in 1930. Today he is remembered not only for his paintings and writings themselves, but also for the unusual way he brought an artist's eye to language and a writer's sensitivity to images.