Octobre: a sunny day in autumn

The present lot is an excellent example of the kind of large elaborate paintings with which the artist reaped success, not only in the Netherlands, but also in Germany and mainly in France. As from 1900 Gorter was nearly always represented at the annual Paris Salons with a number of paintings. During this event one of his large paintings was even acquired by the French state for the Muse du Luxembourg and is now in the collection of the Muse Quai d'Orsay. Later he received the honor to be elected as member of the French Academy (Institut de France), succeeding Fernand Khnopff. As newspaper reviews show, the French public regarded Gorter as a painter working in the tradition of the Barbizon School and thence kindred to Jules Dupr and Henri Harpignies. When the latter wrote Gorter a letter in which he complimented him on his painting shown at the Salon, the critics were found to have judged fairly. It is not only in his perception of the natural scenery that Gorter is kindred to the Barbizon School, but also in his way of painting. The thickly applied layers of paint, sometimes scraped off again to gain a kind of sgraffito effect, enhanced the effects of space and atmosphere in the painting.
Gorter never portrayed Dutch scenery, as is found in the work of the Hague School, but instead devoted himself to recording his native surroundings of the Achterhoek and Drente. The compositions of each of his ambitious large paintings are all based on studies he painted en plein air in these regions. Paintings of more modest dimensions sold easily, not only in the Netherlands through art dealer Frans Buffa, but also in the U.S.A. and Canada.