Willem Roelofs (1822-1897)

Cowherdesses resting in a hazy summer landscape, Barbizon

细节

Willem Roelofs (1822-1897)
Cowherdesses resting in a hazy summer landscape, Barbizon
signed and dated lower right W Roelofs f1854
oil on canvas
75 x 100 cm

来源

Gebr. Douwes, Amsterdam, inv. no. GD 8880.
M. Newman Ltd., London, November 1973, exhib.no. 3.

出版

John Sillevis and Hans Kraan, De School van Barbizon, Franse Meesters van de 19de Eeuw, The Hague, Haags Gemeente Museum, 1985/1986, p. 9, ill. no. 49.

展览

Osaka, The National Museum of Art, The Barbizon School- Dutch Collections, 21 March-5 May 1987, cat.no. 73.

拍品专文

Willem Roelofs' move to Brussel in 1847 marked a turning point in the artist's style of painting, with the influence of the Barbizon School slowly but surely gaining ground. It was at the capital's annual Salons that he was initially introduced to the naturalistic landscape painting of artists such as Millet, Dupré, Rousseau and Troyon. These pioneers of 'plein-air' painting rejected the romanticized and pretentious portrayal of nature inherited from classical tradition and moved outdoors to capture the essence of their immediate surroundings. In a letter to Jan Weissenbruch dating 1849, Roelofs not surprisingly remarks: "Soms krijg ik sterke aanvechtingen om naar Parijs te gaan voor veertien dagen../Zeer nieuwsgierig ben ik altijd geweest naar die nieuwe Fransche landschapsschilders" (J. de Gruyter, De Haagse School, 1968, p. 36). Two years later, in 1851, Roelofs paid his first visit to the remote village of Barbizon, returning to the artistic haven on two occasions in 1852 and 1855. A pencil drawing depicting the garden of Franois Ganne's Auberge suggests that Roelofs lodged there during his visits, and was given the opportunity to meet French colleagues who frequented the inexpensive inn. The present lot was most likely painted after Roelofs' second journey to the Forest of Fontainebleau in 1852. The painting depicts two cw herdesses resting near outcroppings of rocks and boulders on a hazy day. The forest's anthropomorphic rock formations proved to be a popular theme amongst the painters of the Barbizon School and were masterly depicted by the Dutchman M.A. Kuytenbrouwer (1777-1850) in particular (J. Sillevis and H. Kraan, op.cit., p. 53). Roelofs' Barbizon painting furthermore demonstrates the artist's singular ability to depict atmospheric effects and herewith heralds his future role as chief exponent of the Hague School. His stay in Barbizon and the exposure to the new painting style propagated by the artists gathered there was of unmistakable influence on this later impressionistic period. Most importantly altering the way he viewed the countryside of his own homeland.