Rating and value of drawings and paintings by Jan Toorop

Jan Toorop’s sculptures and drawings fetch up to €720,000 at auction. An appraisal allows us to accurately determine the current market value of your Jan Toorop artwork and, if applicable, optimize the sale of the piece.

If you own a work by Jan Toorop and would like to know its value, our state-certified auctioneers will provide a free appraisal based on authenticity, market value, and recent market results.

The Artist’s Market Value and Reputation

On the auction market, works by Jan Toorop are rare but nonetheless highly sought after by collectors.

His paintings characteristic of Symbolism command the highest prices on the market. The amounts his works sell for range from €10 to €720,000 at auction.

Thus, a painting signed by Toorop can fetch tens of thousands of euros at auction, as evidenced by his 1900 painting *Portret van nevrouw M. J. de Lange*, which sold for 720,000, originally estimated at between 700,000 and 1,000,000 euros.  

Ranking by value, from the most basic to the most prestigious

Placing the Artist in Context

Period

Jan Toorop (1858–1928) was born in Purworejo in the Dutch East Indies. He was a painter whose work bridges the gap between pictorial Symbolism and Art Nouveau. His career spanned the late 19th century and the turn of the 20th, a period of rapid change in the Northern European avant-garde.

His artistic development followed a unique path, shaped by a formative experience of colonial uprooting: he left Indonesia in 1869 for the Netherlands, where he studied in Delft, before enrolling in 1880 at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Amsterdam.

His time in Brussels (1882–1886) marked the heart of his integration into the European avant-garde: he lived in Brussels, where he became a member of the Group of the XX in 1884, traveled to London with Émile Verhaeren, and then went to France, where he met Odilon Redon.

He converted to Catholicism in 1905 and began painting religious works, while continuing to produce portraits and landscapes.

Artistic Movements

Toorop is characterized by a rare stylistic versatility, moving successively through several major movements. He experimented with various styles during these years, such as Realism, Impressionism, Neo-Impressionism, and Post-Impressionism, before developing his own personal style.

His Symbolist style is the result of an original synthesis of his Javanese heritage and Symbolism; his slender, curvilinear figures also foreshadow Art Nouveau. His contribution is considered decisive and is internationally recognized.

He also practiced Pointillism, which constitutes a unique technical dimension of his work; predating its adoption in the Netherlands, he was the first Dutch artist to embrace this movement.

His final artistic period, following his conversion, shifted his Symbolism toward a mystical-religious dimension, while retaining the dynamic lines and sense of stylization that characterized his entire career.

The Life of Jan Toorop   

Cultural Background

Jan Toorop was the son of a Dutch colonial official and a British mother. He grew up with Asian and African ancestors. In 1872, he moved with his family to the Netherlands, where he studied in Delft and Amsterdam.

From 1882 to 1886, he lived in Brussels, where he joined Les Vingt, a group of artists centered around James Ensor, and immersed himself in the burgeoning Belgian avant-garde, at the forefront of Impressionism, Neo-Impressionism, and later European Symbolism.

After 1890, he settled in Ketwijk aan Zee, a small seaside town. This move coincided with the beginning of his Art Nouveau period, which spanned from 1891 to 1899. He exhibited in Vienna in 1900 and 1902 alongside artists from the Secession and published in the journal *Ver sacrum* in 1902.  

Artistic and Intellectual Circle

In 1884, he traveled to London with the poet Émile Verhaeren, a major figure in French-speaking Belgian Symbolism, and then went to France, where he met Odilon Redon, whose work directly influenced his turn toward Symbolism.

In Domburg, he gathered around him an informal circle of artists, the most famous of whom was Piet Mondrian, a leading figure in an art scene that contributed to the emergence of the Dutch generation that would, a few years later, lead to geometric abstraction.

Market Segmentation and Artist Rankings

Prices of Works

The market for Toorop’s works shows a clear price stratification based on medium, a result of his status as a multidisciplinary artist: paintings sell for between €250 and €150,000, drawings and watercolors between €200 and €70,000, and multiples between €50 and €9,000.

The Symbolist compositions from his Brussels and Dutch periods—emblems of the artist’s stylistic maturity—command the highest auction estimates, ahead of his Pointillist works and graphic pieces created for advertising commissions, which are less sought after by specialized collectors.

Factors Influencing Value

His position as a pivotal figure between Symbolism and Art Nouveau is the primary driver of his critical and market legitimacy: he enjoys significant renown as a major figure in both Art Nouveau and Symbolism, with his highly distinctive style having contributed to his growing fame.

His creation of a national visual icon significantly bolstered the artist’s popular fame beyond the circle of specialists: his poster for the Dutch Oil Company, featuring innovative, stylized clothing and hair, was so iconic that it earned Dutch Art Nouveau the nickname “Slaolie.”

Regular publication in avant-garde journals, including the Viennese magazine *Ver Sacrum* in 1902, and his participation in the Vienna Secession exhibitions in 1900 and 1902, attest to European institutional recognition that extended beyond the strictly Dutch context and bolstered the international appeal of his body of work on the secondary market.  

FAQ – How do you estimate the value of a work by Jan Toorop?

1) Which periods are the most sought-after?

In the 1880s and 1890s, Toorop experimented with various styles, including Realism, Impressionism, and Neo-Impressionism. He was associated with the Belgian avant-garde group Les XX, where he met contemporaries such as James Ensor and Gustav Klimt. His career can thus be divided into the Naturalist period, the Symbolist period, and the late Catholic period. 

2) Why is *The Three Brides* so central to understanding the artist’s work?

In 1893, he produced what some consider his masterpiece, *The Three Brides*, with its coiled, flat, serpentine composition and imagery reminiscent of Javanese art, particularly batik. This monochrome Symbolist painting depicts three states of the soul. 

3) What technique did Toorop favor for his Symbolist drawings, and why is this important?

His use of mixed media on paper or primed canvas (chalk, pencil, and highlights of color and white) is characteristic of the Symbolist period and serves as a valuable technical indicator for authenticating a work from this period, as opposed to the more conventional oil paintings from other periods of his career.

His signature

Not all of Jan Toorop’s works are signed.

Although there are variations, here is an example of his signature:

Get Your Jan Toorop Artwork Appraised  

If you own a work by Jan Toorop, an appraisal will help you determine its current market value.

Using our online form, our experts and certified auctioneers will conduct a free appraisal and provide you with a reliable estimate of your artwork’s market value.

 If you’re considering selling it, we’ll guide you through the process to ensure you get the best possible price.