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Lot Essay
The art critics who were Jacob Maris' contemporaries referred to him as the greatest painter of his age. In her famous review of Dutch 19th century paintings, Mrs. G.H. Marius, one of Holland's leading critics, places Maris alongside Ruysdael, Vermeer, De Hoogh and Rembrandt. ' Een pracht, waarvan wij in een ander aandoening alleen in Rembrandt een weergade kunnen vinden' (see: Marius, De Hollandse Schilderkunst in de negentiende eeuw, The Hague 1903 (1920), op. cit. p. 128). Jacob Maris earned this reputation by becoming the Impressionist interpreter of Dutch mills, beaches, town views and vast cloudy skies over meandering rivers. He instigated a new direction in Dutch painting by the rigour of his compositions, uncomplicated use of colour, dramatic lighting and, most notably, his broad and confident handling of paint, innovating the modeling of the impasto. He loved to paint for the sake of it - 'I think in my material' (Ik denk in mijn materie) (see: Th. De Bock, Jacob Maris, The Hague 1900, p. 1).
In 1865 Maris settled in Paris, where he lived until 1871. Initially he painted readily marketable genre works (the so-called "Italiennes"), and later turned to landscape painting, strongly influenced by the Barbizon school. His French landscapes are closely related to Corot and Daubigny. When Maris returned home to The Hague in 1871, his technique and mood in his pictures changed. He completely abandoned the small scale of his early work, giving a new direction to Dutch painting of the last quarter of the 19th century. He focused on The Hague, his native city, and its environs. Inspired by the painters he met in Oosterbeek as well as the Barbizon painters who had admired the Dutch Old Masters, Maris developed into a leading figure of The Hague School - all the members of which owe a debt to Jan van Goyen, Jacob van Ruysdael and Jan Vermeer.
Apart from town views and landscapes, Maris painted many beach scenes and seascapes. The first to be acquired by a Dutch museum, and best-known, is a beach scene painted in 1878 (fig. 1: 'De Bomschuit' (1878), oil on canvas, 124 x 125 cm. Collection: Haags Gemeentemuseum, The Hague). This painting has become an icon of the grey period of The Hague School, and is one of the highlights of the Gemeentemuseum's permanent collection. The present lot is closely related to 'De Bomschuit' not only in composition, but also in the predominance of silver-grey tones combined with the delicate handling of colour, the tranquil motif rendered in a broad, generous manner and, above all, its unequalled emphasis on the overall atmosphere.
According to Maris' good friend, the art dealer H.G. Tersteeg of Goupil, one the most important commercial galleries that represented him and where several hundred of his oil paintings and watercolours were sold, the artist made at least 16 paintings composed similarly to the present work. This underscores how highly the beach scenes were prized on the international art market. From the 1880's on, Maris' work was very well received both in Holland and abroad, sold predominantly by Goupil (later renamed Boussod, Valadon & Cie.). Most of these beach scenes were painted in the 80's and 90's. According to notes in the RKD, the present painting can be dated circa 1895.
Following Maris' death in 1899, the international art community expressed admiration for his paintings in no uncertain terms: '(...) in looking at his pictures we are impressed by their breadth, strength and simplicity, with the wonderful movement and light in the sky, which is modeled with a mingled subtlety and strength that perhaps no other modern artist attained.' (see: E.G.C., 'James Maris', in: The Art Journal, April 1900, p. 111). The last official exhibition of the present lot in The Netherlands was at the 'Eere-tentoonstelling Jacob Maris' in Pulchri Studio in The Hague in 1899. The show was organized after Maris death and, with 6981 visitors, was the best attended exhibition at Pulchri Studio in the 19th century. In 1903 the work left Europe and was sold to the New York dealers M. Knoedler & Co., and has been in private hands in America for more than 100 years.
In 1865 Maris settled in Paris, where he lived until 1871. Initially he painted readily marketable genre works (the so-called "Italiennes"), and later turned to landscape painting, strongly influenced by the Barbizon school. His French landscapes are closely related to Corot and Daubigny. When Maris returned home to The Hague in 1871, his technique and mood in his pictures changed. He completely abandoned the small scale of his early work, giving a new direction to Dutch painting of the last quarter of the 19th century. He focused on The Hague, his native city, and its environs. Inspired by the painters he met in Oosterbeek as well as the Barbizon painters who had admired the Dutch Old Masters, Maris developed into a leading figure of The Hague School - all the members of which owe a debt to Jan van Goyen, Jacob van Ruysdael and Jan Vermeer.
Apart from town views and landscapes, Maris painted many beach scenes and seascapes. The first to be acquired by a Dutch museum, and best-known, is a beach scene painted in 1878 (fig. 1: 'De Bomschuit' (1878), oil on canvas, 124 x 125 cm. Collection: Haags Gemeentemuseum, The Hague). This painting has become an icon of the grey period of The Hague School, and is one of the highlights of the Gemeentemuseum's permanent collection. The present lot is closely related to 'De Bomschuit' not only in composition, but also in the predominance of silver-grey tones combined with the delicate handling of colour, the tranquil motif rendered in a broad, generous manner and, above all, its unequalled emphasis on the overall atmosphere.
According to Maris' good friend, the art dealer H.G. Tersteeg of Goupil, one the most important commercial galleries that represented him and where several hundred of his oil paintings and watercolours were sold, the artist made at least 16 paintings composed similarly to the present work. This underscores how highly the beach scenes were prized on the international art market. From the 1880's on, Maris' work was very well received both in Holland and abroad, sold predominantly by Goupil (later renamed Boussod, Valadon & Cie.). Most of these beach scenes were painted in the 80's and 90's. According to notes in the RKD, the present painting can be dated circa 1895.
Following Maris' death in 1899, the international art community expressed admiration for his paintings in no uncertain terms: '(...) in looking at his pictures we are impressed by their breadth, strength and simplicity, with the wonderful movement and light in the sky, which is modeled with a mingled subtlety and strength that perhaps no other modern artist attained.' (see: E.G.C., 'James Maris', in: The Art Journal, April 1900, p. 111). The last official exhibition of the present lot in The Netherlands was at the 'Eere-tentoonstelling Jacob Maris' in Pulchri Studio in The Hague in 1899. The show was organized after Maris death and, with 6981 visitors, was the best attended exhibition at Pulchri Studio in the 19th century. In 1903 the work left Europe and was sold to the New York dealers M. Knoedler & Co., and has been in private hands in America for more than 100 years.