A pause from posing: an elegant lady seated in the artist's studio

Albert Roelofs, son of the Hague School painter Willem Roelofs, had the benefit to grow up in two countries: Holland and Belgium. He received his artistic training both in The Hague and in Brussels and was thus influenced by two different schools. The Dutch art critic Albert Plasschaert noted the influence of Belgian artists like Alfred Stevens, Dutch artists working in Brussels like David Oyens and the Italian painter Antonio Mancini. The absorption of their style turned Roelofs into quite a solitary figure in the Dutch art world. In contrast to his contemporaries he preferred to capture the homely aspects of family life. His approach to women, who formed the main subject in his work, was quite different from his Dutch contemporaries, like Isaac Israels and George Breitner, who were mainly inspired by city life. In contrast, Roelofs was not so much interested in the colorful and dynamic street life but in the more contemplative world indoors as is evident in the present lot.

The present lot is an exceptional example of the artist proficiency with the medium of watercolour. It holds a fine balance as it is dynamic in its use of colour and serene in its subject-matter.