Petrus van Schendel

Signed P. van Schendel (lower left)

63 x 50 cm.

Jan van Heijningen (1874-1960), Heemstede;


Thence by descent to the family of the present owner.

Petrus van Schendel studied at the Academy of Antwerp under the tutelage of Jan van Bree. Blending the romantic with the neo-classical, he specialised in nocturnal Dutch market scenes where he explored the subtle and theatrical effects of candle and lamplight on the human face and body. Van Schendel was clearly influenced by seventeenth century northern masters of light, collectively known as Utrecht Caravaggisti and who included Gerrit van Honthorst (1592-1656), Hendrick ter Brugghen (1588-1629) and Dirck van Baburen (1594/5-1624).

This painting, a quintessential Van Schendel composition, features three figures around a vegetable stall and highlights the artist’s recurring themes and favorite subjects. Central to the scene is a distinctive Scheveningen woman, easily identifiable by the basket of jugs and bottles balanced on her head, who plays the role of the observer. While this figure appears in Van Schendel’s earlier works from his Hague period (1838-1845), she becomes a more frequent subject in the 1850s, by which time Van Schendel was well-established in Schaerbeek.

The scene is set on the Groenplaats in The Hague, renowned for its vegetable and fish markets at the time. The location of this painting is slightly different from other similar works, positioned further along the Groenplaats, near the entrance of the old town hall, with the silhouette of the St. Jacobskerk in the background.

Van Schendel continued to paint women from Scheveningen until 1870, making it challenging to date this work precisely. However, certain attributes, such as the candlestick, suggest it likely dates from the late 1850s.