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Antoon Kruijsen (1898-1977) was the son of Jan Kruijsen and was initially taught by his father. After training at the academy in Rotterdam, he went to Geneva. Here he made a name for himself in 1922 with the exhibition ‘Grand Salon d’Art’.

Around 1925, he settled in Chartres in France, where he was to remain for most of his life. There he also met Maurice de Vlaminck.

Kruijsen was a lively, spirited painter whose character shines through in the glowing colours and spontaneous, expressionist lines of his paintings. His characteristic brushwork is also referred to as ‘peinture barbare’.

He is considered to belong to the afterblow of French fauvism. Work by the painter is, among others, in the possession of the Museé Jeu de Paume in Paris.

In Oirschot, a museum is opened, called Het Kruysenhuis, with work by Antoon, his father Jan Kruijsen and his sister Maria Kruijsen.