Jan Toorop Memorial, Den Haag, by John Radecker, 1937

Jan Toorop (1858-1928) was a Dutch-Indonesian artist, who lived much of his life in Den Haag. He is perhaps best known as a symbolist, where his individual style seemed to be  inspired by motifs from his native Java.  He later turned to Art Nouveau and finally, after his conversion to Catholicism, to religious pieces.

This monument to him was created by John Rädecker, a Dutch sculptor and painter. The statue stands on a 3.5 metre tall plinth in Den Haag.  Rädecker was friends with Toorop’s daughter, also an artist, and was able to obtain from her photos of her father at various ages.

The head in the middle is clearly Toorops himself.  The head to the left symbolises inspiration and the older head to the right represents work.

 Linked to Triple Shot Friday and Weekly Photo Challenge: Monument.