Timeline

1921

Born in Delft, son of a Blacksmith

1933 - 1936

Attended l’Ecole des Arts et Métiers learning the trade of painter and decorator

1935

Took a two-year postal course of drawing lessons paid by his father

1939

Became a full-time painter thanks to the support of the dealer Bennewitz

1943 - 1944

Entered the Academie de la Haye

1944 - 1945

Lived clandestinely in Delft

1946

Moved to France (Paris and South of France)

1951 - 1960

Lived alongside several members of CoBrA, including Appel, Corneille, Steven, and Gilbert

1953

Met the collector Steel de Vries

1958

Became friendly with Swedish painter Bengt Lindstrom and Fontana

1959

Moved to Brussels, taking a studio in a house owned by the art critic Jean Dypreau

1962

The Museum of Modern Art in Brussels bought one of his works—his first sale to an art gallery

1963

Won the Prix de l’Association Belge des Critiques d’Art

1969

Became a Belgian citizen; won the Prix Europa painting prize, Ostende

1987

Won Prix Jules Raeymakers