Jan Meijer (Jan Meyer) was born in Assen 1927 (Nederland) and grew up on his father's farm in the countryside. He began drawing during the German occupation. Around 1944, he visited the studio of Hendrik Werkman, whose advice influenced him. Meyer developed a working method that took his work away and beyond the careful provincial life depicted in his earlier work.

After World War II, he met Evert Rinsema, one of the oldest members of De stijl* and an old friend of Theo van Doesburg. Through him, he discovered and admired the work of Mondrian, and became acquainted with the Dada* movement in Holland. Rinsema also introduced Meyer to Kirchner's expressionist* work. Meyer's life became a search for equilibrium between the ...