Lot Essay
De Bock is generally known as one of the leading artists of the so- called second generation of the Hague School. His artistic training took place in the studios of a.o. J.W. van Borselen and later J.H. Weissenbruch. In 1872 he made his debut at the Exhibition of Living Masters and got acquainted with Jacob Maris, who became his guiding light. In 1881 he assisted H.W. Mesdag to accomplish his famous Panorama Mesdag in The Hague of which he executed large parts of the dune landscape and sky (cf. F. Leeman and H. Pennock, Museum Mesdag. Catalogue of Paintings and Drawings, Zwolle 1996). In 1880-1881 he probably undertook a trip to the village of Barbizon and the forest of Fontainebleau. Through Maris he was very much influenced by the French Realist School in general and by the poetical works of Jean Baptiste Camille Corot (1796-1875) in particular.
See colour illustration
See colour illustration