Jean Paul Vroom
Jean Paul Vroom (1922-2006) was a Dutch visual artist and theatre designer. He grew up in The Hague and studied for a year at the Royal Academy of Art starting in 1938, before being expelled for rebellious behaviour. During the Second World War, Vroom refused to join the Kultuurkamer and went into hiding in Amsterdam. He became involved in the resistance, specialising in forging identity papers.
In 1943, he fled the Netherlands and ended up in Paris, where he stayed for thirteen years, studying graphic techniques at the École Estienne from 1944 to 1946. During this period, he was inspired by surrealism in his work. Vroom also developed as a theatre designer. When he returned to the Netherlands in 1955, he created his first set and costume designs. In 1961, he collaborated for the first time with choreographer Hans van Manen. This marked the beginning of a long and intensive collaboration: from 1970 to around 1984, Vroom designed nearly all the sets and costumes for Van Manen’s ballets.
After the surrealism in his early work, Vroom later drew inspiration mainly from photography and film.