Dora Tuynman Biography
Dorothée (Dora) Tuynman (Montpellier, April 13, 1926 – Deventer, July 11, 1979) was a Dutch artist and designer.
Until 1957, Dora Tuynman primarily painted highly abstracted landscapes. From 1958 onward, human forms began to appear in her work, and her style evolved into an energetic abstract expressionism characterized by broad brushstrokes and thick layers of paint, often on large canvases. After 1962, figurative elements reemerged in her work. From that point, she explored both new forms of figurative compositions and abstractions of landscapes in her unique style.
Dora never identified herself as part of the Cobra movement. Nevertheless, her work is unmistakably connected to Cobra. However, her various periods show a distinct individuality compared to the Cobra artists. Posthumously, she is widely considered part of Cobra.
Early Life
Dora was born in 1926 in Montpellier. She was the daughter of H.J. Verhoeven and G.W. Tuynman. Her father, an architect and draftsman, worked there as an artist and carpenter. In 1932, the family returned to the Netherlands. Dora attended high school in Deventer, where she graduated in the sciences in 1943. In 1945, she moved to Amsterdam with her parents, brothers, and sisters, where she studied at the Institute for Applied Arts Education, later known as the Gerrit Rietveld Academy. In 1948, she applied to the Rijksacademie but was not admitted.
Paris
In 1949, Dora moved to Paris. At the invitation of Bram Bogart, she later acquired a studio in a former hide warehouse on Rue Santeuil, which housed a colony of predominantly Dutch artists. Artists such as Karel Appel, Corneille, and Lotti van der Gaag also had studios there. Dora arranged her studio as a living space as well.
Thanks to Fernand Léger, she received a scholarship from the French government in 1954. That year, she made her breakthrough with a solo exhibition at Club des Quatre Vents. Père Laval, director of the Art Sacré movement of the Dominicans, became her promoter. In the following months, she sold nearly all her paintings and gouaches.
Jean-Marie Drot created the documentary series L’art et les hommes, broadcast on French television starting in 1955, which also featured Dora.
The Netherlands
After returning to the Netherlands in 1963, Dora lived in The Hague and, from 1970, in Amsterdam. She continued to paint and create large brick reliefs and glass appliqués for architect Wouter van de Kuilen in Emmeloord, Dronten, Hoorn, as well as a monumental painting in Emmen. She also made large reliefs for architects Mastenbroek and Meyerink.
In 1979, Dora ended her life.
Timeline
1926
Born on April 13 in Montpellier, France, to G.W. Tuynman and H.J. Verhoeven.
1926 - 1944
The family moved several times within France and finally to the Netherlands in 1932. From 1941, she lived in Wilp and spent the remaining war years there. In 1943, she graduated from high school (science track). Subsequently, she joined a study group on plant sociology and took private drawing lessons.
1945
Moves with the family to Amsterdam and enrolls at the Institute for Applied Arts Education, later known as the Gerrit Rietveld Academy.
1949
Rents an attic room in Paris. In October, participates in her first group exhibition at Galerie Raymond Duncan.
1952
Moves to the third floor of Rue Santeuil in Paris at the beginning of the year.
1954
In November, holds a solo exhibition at Club des Quatre Vents in Paris.
1955 - 1962
Featured in broadcasts of L’art et les hommes, a documentary series on French television by Jean-Marie Drot.
1957 - 1969
Creates various artworks for buildings in collaboration with architects, including brick reliefs, glass appliqués, and painted wall panels.
1958
In November, holds a solo exhibition at Galerie Orient-Occident in Paris, which includes a collaborative publication with poet Gerard Blanchard. Provides linocuts for the poems in a limited edition of 200 copies.
1959
Exhibits at Ohrbach’s Art Gallery in New York.
1961 - 1962
Spends several months in New York, living and painting in a studio in Greenwich Village.
1963
Holds a solo exhibition in October/November at ’t Venster in Rotterdam. Moves back to the Netherlands.
1970
In late autumn, she traveled to the artists’ village of Ein Hod, Israel, for about nine months.
1977 - 1978
From December to mid-February, travels with the son of a family friend through Egypt, Greece, and Italy.
1979
In July, she ended her life.