Bloemenmarkt in Londen

Bloemenmarkt in Londen (Flower Market in London) was painted in 1885 during Toorop's extended stay in the British capital, where he lived from 1882 to 1886 and married Annie Hall. London's street markets — Covent Garden and smaller flower stalls along the Strand — combined working-class commerce with vivid seasonal colour. For Toorop, discovering a new city through its daily visual spectacle, the market offered exactly the kind of modern urban subject that Impressionist painters had made central to their programme. The work reflects both Whistler's atmospheric city views, to which Toorop had direct access during his London years, and the broader Impressionist interest in documenting metropolitan life as a subject equal to any pastoral or historical theme. The Kröller-Müller Museum holds this oil on canvas among its London-period Toorop holdings.

Oil on canvas with energetic, varied brushwork distinguishing the loose masses of flowers from the surrounding architecture and figures. A high-keyed palette for the floral arrangements contrasts their vivid colours against the sober greys and browns of the London street around them.