Tinus van Doorn was a Dutch painter and graphic artist in the Expressionist style. Born in Indonesia, his family returned to the Netherlands and settles in The Hague when he was eight. In 1924, he began his studies at the Royal Academy of Art, graduating in 1928. He married Annie Vermeulen, known as Akkie. He was influenced by the works of Marc Chagall and Franz Marc, experimenting with form and colour.

His first major exhibition was at the Stedelijk Museum in 1933. In his last paintings, death is a recurrent theme. Van Doorn could see that he would not be allowed to paint as he pleased under the Nazis. In 1938, he moved to Belgium. When the German army occupied Brussels in 1940, he committed suicide together with his Akkie.