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Lot Essay
The international career of the Dutch marine painter Hendrik Willem Mesdag started with the gold medal he received in 1870 at the Salon de Paris for his large seascape Les Brisants de la Mer du Nord (Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam). From 1870 to 1911, Mesdag exhibited every year at least two works at the Salon. In an interview he stated that he always sent his best paintings to the Salon de Paris, which he considered to be the most important international exhibition. The present lot was exhibited at the Salon of 1887 under the title Un temps frais-Schéveningue. As most of Mesdag's Salon paintings, this seascape is very impressive both in size and in rendering of the subject.
The typically Dutch seascapes of Hendrik Willem Mesdag, his numerous views of the North Sea and of the beach at Scheveningen were very popular at the Salon because of their strong reminiscene of Dutch 17th century marine paintings by the Van de Veldes, Jan van Goyen and Ludolf Backhuysen. French 19th century art critics highly estimated the work of Mesdag, who they considered "un bon héritier de la tradition hollandaise" and "un vrai fils des Pays-Bas". In the Salon reviews in French art magazins and newspapers, the truthful rendering of reality and the sincerity of his works were often praised. Whether Mesdag painted the North Sea in stormy weather with boats in danger, or calm and peaceful as in the present lot, the strong impression of his works made on the spectator was highly acclaimed by the art critics who baptised him "le poète de la Mer du Nord".
We would like to thank Nienke Bakker for writing the catalogue entry. Her research on the Salon entries of the artist will be included in a forthcoming publication on the artist by the Stichting Mesdag Documentatie.
The present lot is recorded in the archives of the Stichting Mesdag Documentatie, Wassenaar, inv.no. ....
The typically Dutch seascapes of Hendrik Willem Mesdag, his numerous views of the North Sea and of the beach at Scheveningen were very popular at the Salon because of their strong reminiscene of Dutch 17th century marine paintings by the Van de Veldes, Jan van Goyen and Ludolf Backhuysen. French 19th century art critics highly estimated the work of Mesdag, who they considered "un bon héritier de la tradition hollandaise" and "un vrai fils des Pays-Bas". In the Salon reviews in French art magazins and newspapers, the truthful rendering of reality and the sincerity of his works were often praised. Whether Mesdag painted the North Sea in stormy weather with boats in danger, or calm and peaceful as in the present lot, the strong impression of his works made on the spectator was highly acclaimed by the art critics who baptised him "le poète de la Mer du Nord".
We would like to thank Nienke Bakker for writing the catalogue entry. Her research on the Salon entries of the artist will be included in a forthcoming publication on the artist by the Stichting Mesdag Documentatie.
The present lot is recorded in the archives of the Stichting Mesdag Documentatie, Wassenaar, inv.no. ....