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Lot Essay
Matthijs Maris, the second of the three talented Maris siblings, was born in The Hague in 1839 and occupies a singular position within Dutch nineteenth century art. After having studied at the The Hague Drawing Academy for three years, Matthijs was rewarded a grant by Queen Sophie and enrolled in the prestigious Antwerp Academy in 1855. Here he became inspired by the work of German artists such as Ludwig Richter (1803-1884) and Alfred Rethel (1816-1859) and he produced genre scenes in a characteristic lineair style. Though strongly dependent on his elderly brother, Matthijs was never influenced by the artistic developments of Jacob Maris or his The Hague School contemporaries. Even when working outdoors in the artists colonies of Oosterbeek and Wolfheze in 1859-1861, Matthijs focussed on rendering an intangible reality and only used the surrounding nature as an expressive tool.
In 1861 Matthijs and Jacob undertook a journey to Germany, Switzerland and France that further aroused Matthijs' fascination for the German Romantics and provided him with a series of new artistic motives such as The Christening (Centraal Museum, Utrecht) and The view of Lausanne (Gemeentemuseum, The Hague). In accordance with the romantic taste, Matthijs also developed a keen interest in medieval culture and increasingly incorporated gothic architectural elements in his work. The pictures Matthijs produced upon his return to Holland were however rejected by the general public. As a result the artist abstained from participating in exhibitions, became more and more reclusive and began nurturing a strong resentment against art-dealers. The following years Matthijs lived a solitary life until he joined his brother Jacob in Paris in 1869. During his stay in the French capital, the artist was forced to support himself financially and started to paint on a regular basis again. Though he loathed painting for commercial purposes, Matthijs executed some of his most succesful works during his Paris period (Souvenir d'Amsterdam (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam); Keukenmeisje (Museum Mesdag, The Hague (fig. 1)); De Vlinders (The Burrell Collection, Glasgow), as well as the present lot.
By the late 1870's, Matthijs' work aroused considerable interest in England and the artist was persuaded to settle in London by the art-dealer Daniel Cottier, one of the first owners of the painting. During their ten year's period of collaboration, Matthijs however felt strongly restricted in his artistic freedom and expressed his resentment against the art-trade in various letters written to friends and family. In a letter addressed to Leopold Sickel (1862-1941), dated 28 March 1894, Matthijs writes about the foilbles of public taste and the hopelessness of a painter's career: 'Public taste is a funny taste, worked by the dealers through the eyes of the client, both of them not caring a rap for the painters, nor their art, nor their mind' (see: T.B. Brumbaugh, 'A Matthijs Maris Correspondence', in: Oud Holland, 1981, no 95, pp. 88-96.). After breaking his ties with Cottier, Matthijs was supported financially by the Amsterdam art dealer E.J. van Wisselingh and settled down in the London Borough of Hampstead. The following years he fully withdrew from society and dedicated himself to painting mystical and fairy-tale-like visions of figures in landscapes with castle ruins.
The present lot was painted in 1871 in Paris and shows a young girl - possibly his own kitchen maid - musing at the stove. The light and pastel palette of the girl's dress and apron carefully complement the predominantly brown background. Croal Thomson lauded the work for being 'one of the most subtly beautiful of the master's works' (see: D. Croal Thompson, 'Matthijs Maris: V. De Jaren 1871 en 1872 te Parijs', in: The Studio, November 1917, p. 37). A year later Matthijs painted a similar painting which is now in the collection of Museum Mesdag. In comparing these works, Dr. P. Buschmann writes that concerning the present lot 'the colours are slightly colder and more pale, in particular the skintones, having a smoothness of character like mother-of-pearl. (...) Nonetheless, it remains to be a very attractive small work of art' (see: Dr. P. Buschmann, 'De Matthijs Maris - tentoonstelling te Londen', in: Onze Kunst, 33 (1918), pp. 68-76). When comparing the two works, one could notice that the 1871 work shows a young girl, whereas the work he painted the year after shows her becoming a young lady now.
We kindly thank Mr. Richard Bionda for his help in cataloguing the present lot.
In 1861 Matthijs and Jacob undertook a journey to Germany, Switzerland and France that further aroused Matthijs' fascination for the German Romantics and provided him with a series of new artistic motives such as The Christening (Centraal Museum, Utrecht) and The view of Lausanne (Gemeentemuseum, The Hague). In accordance with the romantic taste, Matthijs also developed a keen interest in medieval culture and increasingly incorporated gothic architectural elements in his work. The pictures Matthijs produced upon his return to Holland were however rejected by the general public. As a result the artist abstained from participating in exhibitions, became more and more reclusive and began nurturing a strong resentment against art-dealers. The following years Matthijs lived a solitary life until he joined his brother Jacob in Paris in 1869. During his stay in the French capital, the artist was forced to support himself financially and started to paint on a regular basis again. Though he loathed painting for commercial purposes, Matthijs executed some of his most succesful works during his Paris period (Souvenir d'Amsterdam (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam); Keukenmeisje (Museum Mesdag, The Hague (fig. 1)); De Vlinders (The Burrell Collection, Glasgow), as well as the present lot.
By the late 1870's, Matthijs' work aroused considerable interest in England and the artist was persuaded to settle in London by the art-dealer Daniel Cottier, one of the first owners of the painting. During their ten year's period of collaboration, Matthijs however felt strongly restricted in his artistic freedom and expressed his resentment against the art-trade in various letters written to friends and family. In a letter addressed to Leopold Sickel (1862-1941), dated 28 March 1894, Matthijs writes about the foilbles of public taste and the hopelessness of a painter's career: 'Public taste is a funny taste, worked by the dealers through the eyes of the client, both of them not caring a rap for the painters, nor their art, nor their mind' (see: T.B. Brumbaugh, 'A Matthijs Maris Correspondence', in: Oud Holland, 1981, no 95, pp. 88-96.). After breaking his ties with Cottier, Matthijs was supported financially by the Amsterdam art dealer E.J. van Wisselingh and settled down in the London Borough of Hampstead. The following years he fully withdrew from society and dedicated himself to painting mystical and fairy-tale-like visions of figures in landscapes with castle ruins.
The present lot was painted in 1871 in Paris and shows a young girl - possibly his own kitchen maid - musing at the stove. The light and pastel palette of the girl's dress and apron carefully complement the predominantly brown background. Croal Thomson lauded the work for being 'one of the most subtly beautiful of the master's works' (see: D. Croal Thompson, 'Matthijs Maris: V. De Jaren 1871 en 1872 te Parijs', in: The Studio, November 1917, p. 37). A year later Matthijs painted a similar painting which is now in the collection of Museum Mesdag. In comparing these works, Dr. P. Buschmann writes that concerning the present lot 'the colours are slightly colder and more pale, in particular the skintones, having a smoothness of character like mother-of-pearl. (...) Nonetheless, it remains to be a very attractive small work of art' (see: Dr. P. Buschmann, 'De Matthijs Maris - tentoonstelling te Londen', in: Onze Kunst, 33 (1918), pp. 68-76). When comparing the two works, one could notice that the 1871 work shows a young girl, whereas the work he painted the year after shows her becoming a young lady now.
We kindly thank Mr. Richard Bionda for his help in cataloguing the present lot.