From January 29 to March 28, 2016, the Jan van der Togt Museum dedicated an exhibition to the work of Herman Brood, who would have turned 70 that year. The exhibition featured paintings and drawings from various private collections, including that of the Brood family.

Herman Brood (1946–2001) painted as he lived: with complete dedication, quickly, and without compromise. He was an admirer of the CoBrA movement and Lucebert in particular. “I learn a lot from my daughter. Lucebert did too. Sometimes I wonder if he made everything himself or if one of his children did." Brood was also influenced by pop art artist Robert Rauschenberg and abstract expressionist Jackson Pollock.

“Your son is color blind, but that's not a disaster. He can become anything except a visual artist," the school doctor once confided to Brood's mother. But what no one thought possible happened anyway. "I started drawing at a very young age and knew all my life that I would become a painter. After working with small formats on paper, my confidence slowly grew and I started making larger canvases."

In his paintings, Brood mainly chose primary colors. He sometimes added texts or poems in black paint. “The use of slogans can be traced back to comic strips. I want to capture an image or situation. A smudge or color is not nearly enough, let alone a wallpaper-like pattern.”

In 2001, Brood ended his life by jumping from the roof of the Hilton Hotel in Amsterdam. However, his spirit lives on in the extensive body of work he left behind.

Photo: Gerard Wessel Photography