Willem Roelofs Dutch, 1822-1897

Acquired directly from the artist by the great-grandfather of the present owners in 1889

Rotterdam, Kunstclub, 1889, no. 57 (titled 'Groep vee aan rivieroever')

 

Original canvas. No retouches visible under UV-light. In very good condition. Set in the original frame.
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

'When the Hague School reached its heights, about 1880, Willem Roelofs was not only still alive, but revered as a great master and pioneer by both the art loving public and the modern band of painters', thus Gerben Colmjon writes in his famous book on the Hague School (published in 1951). H.W. Mesdag, his student from 1866 to 1869, labelled Roelofs the first and foremost renewer of Dutch landscape painting. This pioneering role remains unchallenged up to this day.

Willem Roelofs spent a large part of his career in Brussels (1847-1887). This lengthy stay in Belgium didn't prevent him from keeping close ties to his homeland, returning almost every summer to paint in the surroundings of Noorden, Abcoude, Loosdrecht and Kortenhoef. His friend Smissaert remembered this well. 'Not a summer passed without him taking up his paint box, chair, easel and umbrella and setting off for Noorden, Abcoude and Voorschoten, to study nature again, as if he still didn't know her'. The present lot, a masterpiece in the artist's oeuvre, features Roelofs' most famous subject: cows in a polder landscape.

Inspired by the Barbizon School, Willem Roelofs professed a daring bold, style of painting, based on the direct observation of nature. He was a passionate advocate of painting in the open air and managed to render a completely open air feeling to his landscapes. The present lot is an excellent example of his talent to preserve the freshness of his impressions, as he had experienced on the spot. In the opinion of the artist himself, one should feel part of the picture, as though one were outdoors, breathing in fresh air.

The present lot was bought directly from the artist by the ancestors of the present owner in 1889. In that year it was exhibited at the so-called 'Kunstclub' (Art Club) in Rotterdam. The annotation 'K' on the lower right might refer to this. On closer examination, there are more references to this Artclub. The canvas of the painting is stamped on the reverse Kunstclub - Crcle d'Art, Rotterdam (see figure 1). A label on the original gilded frame, handwritten by the artist himself, indicates that the painting was exhibited at the Kunstclub in Rotterdam in 1889 (see figure 2). It also confirms that the painting is an authenthic work, stating: De ondergeteekende verklaart dat de schilderij afkomstig van de tentoonstelling der Kunstclub te Rotterdam in 1889, nr. 57 der catalogus en tot titel hebbende 'groep vee aan rivieroever' van zijne hand is. 's Hage, 2 dec. 1889, W: Roelofs.

The present lot can be compared to Roelofs'  watercolour of the same subject (see figure 3).