The painter, sculptor and graphic artist Jan Giesen was born in The Hague in 1900, where he lived and worked for most of his life. His oeuvre exhibits many different styles, with the theme being that the subjects remain recognizable. As a result of this, his work fell after 1945, when abstract art reigned supreme, somewhat in the background. He was 'rediscovered' in the 1990s. Giesen was a teacher at the academy in The Hague between 1929 and 1946.