Hendrik Willem Mesdag Dutch 1831-1915

Hendrik Willem Mesdag can be regarded as the driving force behind the Hague School, a movement in Dutch 19th century art that was heavily influenced by the plein-air painters of the French Barbizon School.

Taken on by painters like Willem Roelofs, Mesdag became familiar with painting in the open air, which was one of the most important innovations of that day. Industrial revolution played an important role in this: for the first time it was possible to produce paint in small tubes, which could be taken out into the fields. Before this invention the only way to produce paint was by a very complicated and time-consuming process that could only be done in the studio.

A visit to the island of Norderney in 1868 meant a radical change for his artistic career. Impressed by the many faces of the sea, he resolved to become a painter of seascapes. ‘It was unmistakable that his strength and originality lay there’ the art critic A.C. Croiset van der Kop wrote. ‘No one had seen the sea as he did’. Mesdag´s "brutally realistic" depiction of the sea, done straight from nature, was a totally new phenomenon, which earned him a gold medal at the Paris Salon of 1870. Through this huge success he gained international recognition. His marines were so much in demand that he actually became one of the best selling artists of his days. Especially in the United States his work was very popular. Here his career, wealth and beautiful art collection were raved about in the newspapers.

In the present lot, which was painted at the pinnacle of his career, Mesdag has displayed all his talents. The huge flat sailing vessels bobbing in the breakers, with white foam splashing from the waves, all beneath a bright blue sky lined with the whitest of clouds, are all very true to the Scheveningen fisher´s life of that day. The cold water and salt wind are almost palpable and the whole picture is a testimony to Mesdag´s principles of spontaneity and truth. This painting, with its monumental size and effervescent feel, can be truly regarded as a masterpiece in his oeuvre.

This important canvas was acquired at the Kunsthandel Pieter Scheen in The Hague circa 1950 and has stayed in a private hands ever since.