Marjan Nagtegaal (1950) received her education at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. Since graduating in 1974 she has been working as an independent visual artist.

After starting to work with oil paint, she switched to mixed techniques. This gave her the opportunity to put down compositions faster and to change them if necessary. Then she started using acrylic paint. Although acrylic itself is a fairly stiff material to work with, it does have many possibilities and can therefore work larger.

In the beginning she used abstract and furniture-like elements. Then especially the human figure. Vague human figures can be seen in the paintings in relation to each other or, conversely, each locked in their own skin. Nagtegaal: “When I observe people, I often automatically see compositions with human figures as verticals and diagonals in the plane”. The people in her canvases are more universal signs, archetypes, each with its own mystery. Just as simple as they claim their place in the composition, we also find ladders, triangular shapes, boat shapes and hands. They do not function directly as symbols, although the hands clearly stand for touching, feeling, grasping, the need for warmth. Occasionally a human figure assumes a pose that is reminiscent of ancient art.

Painting is an intensive struggle for Marjan, which – as is the case with all good painters – has to be entered again and again and asks everything of you. She couldn't live without her and neither could the public without her art. She is one of the artists who has been associated with the gallery for over 20 years and has many loyal admirers. Many individuals, companies and institutions own her work.

The artworks below by Marjan Nagtegaal are available at