Italienne

Born in 1837 as the eldest of three talented Maris siblings, Jacob Maris began his artistic training at the age of twelve under the tutelage of the genre painter Johannes Stroebel (1821-1905). After attending the Haagsche Teekenacademie from 1850 till 1853, Jacob Maris entered the studio of Huib van Hove (1814-1864), who like Stroebel was strongly influenced by the 17th century doorkijkjes of Pieter de Hoogh (1629-1684). At this time the young Maris already distinguished himself from van Hove by capturing the effects of light and focussing less on the anecdotal details of his interior pieces. In 1854 Jacob moved to Antwerp in the company of his tutor van Hove and attended the evening classes at the academy. A royal grant awarded to Matthijs Maris in 1855 resulted in the brothers financial independence and subsequently gave them the opportunity to travel to Germany, Switserland and France in 1861. Following their journey, Jacob and Mathijs both returned to the Haagsche Teekenacademie, where J. Ph. Koelman instructed them in the painting of Italian genre scenes. This specific genre gained great popularity during the nineteenth century and was introduced into Holland by Cornelis Kruseman and his pupils J. Ph. Koelman and J.H. Koelman. Besides studying at the Haagsche Teekenacademie, Jacob Maris also attended the drawing lessons at Pulchri, where models posed as Italiennes and their male counterparts as Savoyards. When Jacob Maris left for Paris in 1864, the artist was thus familiar with the motif of the Italienne. Under influence of Ernest Hébert he had studied in Italy after receiving the Prix de Rome and created a furore at the Paris Salon with amongst others Rosa Nera à la fontaine. As opposed to his tutor's elegant Italiennes, Maris' first folktypes were characterized by a childish innocence. During his sojourn in Paris, Maris shared a studio on the Rue Mercadet with his fellow painter Frederik Hendrik Kaemmerer (1839-1902) as well as Adolphe Artz (1837-1890). In order to support himself financially, Maris provided the artdealer Goupil with his attractive Italiennes, which proved to be in great demand national and internationally. Besides Maris' artistic motives for paiting these Italian beauties, he evidently also mastered the genre 'om den brode' (cf. J. de Raad, T. van Zadelhoff, Maris een kunstenaarsfamilie, Zwolle 1991, p. 23). The caring portrayed Italian girls, knitting on balconies or picking fruit, nevertheless constitute an autonomous and very inspiring part of Maris' oeuvre in which the artist's talent for genre pieces is combined with his preference for landscape paiting. As the present lot clearly illustrates, Maris dedicated himself more and more to landscape painting during these years, situating the central figure in a wooded landscape. Under influence of the Barbizon School painters and Camille Corot (1796-1875) in particular, Maris developed a broader brushstroke and rendered his celebrated Italiennes in a darker palet consisting of greens, browns, ochre and burgundy. The figures' Napolitan costumes futhermore bear a striking resemblance to Corot's own peasant types and are portrayed with the same dreamy expression that characterize their prototypes.
Painted with broad brushstrokes and with great attention for light, the setting sun illuminating the peasant girl's face, the present lot anticipates Maris' unfolding renowned Hague School style.

See colour illustration