Jan van Herwijnen was a natural talent and self-taught. After a troubled childhood in which he had to earn a living at an early age, he developed his artistic talent by copying paintings in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam in his spare time. There he was 'discovered' by deputy director Willem Steenhoff. A scholarship in 1912 subsequently enabled him to devote himself entirely to painting. Van Herwijnen traveled a lot and worked for some time in Paris and the south of France. In 1935 he settled in Bergen, where his style came to full bloom in light-footed landscapes, flowers and still lifes.