De Tuin | Jacobus van Looij

Jacobus van Looy (Haarlem 1855 – Haarlem 1930,) was a Dutch painter and writer. He trained to become a house painter, but was able to follow drawing classes, from 1877 at the “Rijksacademie van Beeldende Kunsten” in Amsterdam. He was very original painter interested in landscapes, portraits, genre scenes and cityscapes. Later in his life he painted stills of flowers and fruits gathered from his own garden. Van Looy painted De tuin in the summer of 1893. Because of the light touch and the abrupt cut-offs the painting connects to the French Impressionism. Van Looy painted the canvas right outside “en plein air”. The woman in the background is Van Looy’s wife, Titia van Gelder.

10th floor Helicon

De tuin is projected on the 10th floor of Helicon. It is an office floor for the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment. The floor holds open and closed working places, a meeting room and a lounge for informal meeting.