Born in Haarlem in 1804 to a bourgeois family of German origin, Kruseman left his home town for Amsterdam in 1819, where he joined the studio of his cousin, Cornelis Kruseman, seven years his senior. He continued his apprenticeship until 1821, when his cousin left for Italy. He then continued as a self-taught artist, while taking his first portrait commissions after winning a prize with Felix Meritis.
In 1822, buoyed by his initial success, he went to Brussels to complete his apprenticeship with the two most influential artists of his time, François-Joseph Navez (1787-1869) and Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825). Under the guidance of the latter, he produced numerous study sketches and history paintings. Navez, for his part, exerted a classicist influence on his work. When he began studying under Navez, the latter had just returned from Italy, where he had discovered the paintings of Ingres and the Nazarenes, in his quest to reconcile the tensions between realism and idealism.
Kruseman lived in Paris during 1824 and his work really began to emerge from the public eye in 1825 when he returned to Amsterdam. On 11 May 1826 he married Alida de Vries (1799-1862), with whom he had five sons, two daughters and an adopted son, Alida's sister.
The end of the 1820s marked the rise of the artist; he became a member of the Dutch Society of Fine Arts and Sciences in 1828, and was then appointed director of the Royal Academy of Art in Amsterdam.
In 1832, he opened his own studio and from 1834 to 1836, he made several study trips to Germany, England and Scotland.
In 1844, King Wilhelm II appointed him a member of the Royal Netherlands Institute. He was also made a Knight of the Order of the Lion in the same year. He was an accomplished artist who was particularly appreciated, as demonstrated by the commentary accompanying the works he exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Vivants in Amsterdam in 1841 : "J.A. Kruseman, in Amsterdam, has again supplied some of these portraits, which are proof of the great merits of this artist (...); it is therefore not without reason that this artist is the darling of the public".
The artist maintained close links with members of the royal family, who commissioned portraits from him and bought his works when he exhibited. His most famous work was the portrait of King Wilhelm II.
He played a central role on the artistic scene of his time, was present in all the artistic societies and received dozens of distinctions throughout his career. As he himself admits, all this takes up so much of his time that he regrets not being able to spend more time with his family.
After 50 years of rather happy family life, one tragedy followed another in the Kruseman family and the painter finally succumbed to an illness on 17 March 1862. He was so much appreciated and integrated into Dutch society that no fewer than 394 letters of mourning were sent to his family.

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