Château de Maimbray lithos, 1991

Jeroen Krabbé was born in Amsterdam in 1944 into a family of painters. His grandfather was a noted member of the Larense School and his father is also a painter, as well as the author of works on art and education.

After studies at the Rietveld Academy of Art in Amsterdam, Krabbé changed course and went to Drama School. For ten years he worked in theatre and film, both acting and directing, building a major reputation as one of Holland’s most successful and best-regarded actors.

In 1975 Krabbé decided to return to his long-sustained commitment to painting. On the recommendation of the painter Melle, whose influence is evident in Krabbé’s earlier work, he entered the National Academy of Fine Art in Amsterdam (1978-81). Here he was guided by Friso ten Holt, as he began to discover his own, partial path to abstraction.

Since 1984 Krabbé has held exhibitions widely in The Netherlands, including Drie Generaties Krabbé at the Singer Museum and a major public retrospective at the Gemeentelijke Expositieruimte in Kampen.

In 1998 his work was chosen to feature in De Losgezongen Toets: figurative art in the Netherlands since 1945 at the Eelde Museum. In 1999, along with Karel Appel, he was appointed by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands a Commander in the Order of the Dutch Lion, his country’s highest distinction.