Toorop has made some fascinating symbolistic paintings, but more renowned he was for his symbolistic drawings. These drawings brought him international fame. For his drawings Toorop used a wide range of materials such as pen and pencil, black chalk and pastels, waxed crayons, ink, watercolour and bodycolour. Inspired by complicated images from his own imagination, Toorop made several very personal drawings. Among others the Dutch writer Lodewijk van Deyssel, member of the "De Tachtigers", is one of the major influences during Toorop's symbolistic period. In 1894 van Deyssel asked Toorp to illustrate his 'prozagedicht in tien zangen' in which the writer described the ending of the world through the eyes of a dying poet. As far as known Toorop realised one drawing in 1895, now in the collection of the Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh in Amsterdam. The woman in the present lot bears close resemblance to the figures in the drawing of the Rijksmuseum. The subject however is not comparable, no apocalyptic atmosphere is traceable in this drawing. Toorop seems to have chosen for a typical symbiolistic theme, which he used more often, the bride; the utmost emblem of chastity and purity.
Johan Thorn Prikker, who was heavily influenced by Toorop in this period has referred to this theme in the following manner: "Zie je dat ze (de bruid) zich op dat ogenblik heel kuisch voelde en alleen dacht aan reine dingen, dat ze niet dacht aan het leven dat later kwam, maar alleen de overgang zag tusschen maagd en vrouw, dat ze voelde dat vrouw zijn reiner is dan maagd zijn". (Exhibition catalogue, Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, Amsterdam, De schilders van Tachtig, Zwolle 1991, p. 283, p. 293, 295, 296)

See colour illustration