Jan Voerman was born in 1890 as the son of the painter Jan Voerman sr., best known as the painter of IJssel views near Hattem. Voerman jr. was taught by his father and at a very young age he was asked to make illustrations for the well-known Verkade nature albums. For his paintings, too, he usually chose subjects from nature, such as landscapes and still lifes of plants and flowers. He studied this very carefully, which is clearly reflected in his paintings.