Hermanus Koekkoek (Dutch, 1815-1882)
THE PROPERTY OF A NORTHEASTERN COLLECTOR
Hermanus Koekkoek (Dutch, 1815-1882)

Mending Nets by the Shore

Details
Hermanus Koekkoek (Dutch, 1815-1882)
Mending Nets by the Shore
signed and dated 'H. Koekkoek 1862' (lower left)
oil on canvas
21 x 30¼ in. (53.4 x 76.7 cm.)
Painted in 1862
Provenance
Edward Fleet, Esq.
W.H. Patterson Fine Art, London.
Acquired from the above by the present owner circa 1985.
Exhibited
Leeds, National Exhibition of Works of Art, 1868, no. 1795.

Lot Essay

Hermanus Koekkoek, the younger brother of Barend Cornelius, was born in Middelbourg on 13 March 1815. Like his brother before him, he was a pupil of his father Johannes Hermanus and followed tradition in the famous family of painters. Like his father, he was celebrated primarily for his seascapes and painted with a similar flair. By the time of the completion of the present work in 1862, Koekkoek had already exhibited widely in his native country having shown work in Amsterdam in 1860, 1875 and 1881, in The Hague in 1859 and 1863 and in Rotterdam in 1862.
Although the exact location of the present work is not clear, it is, no doubt, one of the many large rivers or estuaries sprinkled throughout the country. Besides the highly polished surface of the canvas and the meticulous rendering of the fisherman, perhaps the most notable feature is the artist's luminous palette which is best demonstrated in the great expansive sky with cream-colored billowy clouds. Particularly beautiful touches include the intense white of the cloth sails of the fishermen's boat that reflect the light in the right foreground.

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