(b Amsterdam, 15 April 1852; d Amsterdam, 24 Oct 1895). Dutch painter. He was born into a well-to-do manufacturer's family, from whom he inherited a great interest in painting. His earliest known paintings, in the style of David Teniers (ii) and Rembrandt, are somewhat anecdotal in nature and reflect his Jewish background. One of these works, Uriel Acosta (1878-88; priv. col.), caused such displeasure in orthodox Jewish circles that Meyer de Haan left for Paris in October 1888 with a monthly allowance from his family. There he stayed with the art dealer Theo van Gogh for some months. In May 1889 he travelled to Brittany, where in Pont-Aven he became friendly with Paul Gauguin. During the winter of 1889-90 Gauguin and Meyer de Haan lived, at the latter's expense, in Marie Henry's inn in Le Pouldu, where Meyer de Haan rented a studio for the two of them and decorated the dining-room with murals; for example Breton Women Stretching Hemp (1889; untraced, see J. Rewald, Post-Impressionism, London, 1956, rev. 1978, p. 273). The withdrawal of his family allowance and a sudden illness seem to have prevented Meyer de Haan from following Gauguin to Tahiti in early 1891. He probably returned to the Netherlands in 1891 where he continued to suffer from the ill-health that precipitated his early death.
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