Tuymans was born in Mortsel, Belgium. He began his studies at the Sint-Lukasinstituut in Brussels in 1976. He then studied at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Visuels de la Cambre in Brussels, Belgium (1979–1980) and at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Belgium (1980–1982). He stopped painting in 1982 and began studying art history at the Vrije Universiteit, Brussels (1982–6). The Belgian government gave him the title of Commander, Order of Leopold in 2007. He is married to Venezuelan artist Carla Arocha.
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