A Life of Quiet Conviction Born in Amsterdam in the late summer of 1891, Johannes Ruys lived a life that diverged sharply from the path his family had laid out for him. His father was part of a lineage of commission agents in the shipping industry, and it was expected that John would follow in those footsteps. Instead, he chose the brush and the canvas. He sought formal training at the School voor Kunstnijverheid in Haarlem and later at the Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten, where he studied under teachers such as Antoon Derkinderen and Bart van Hove. His early years were defined by this pu…