- 260
Fredrik Marinus Kruseman Dutch, 1816-1882
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Description
- Fredrik Marinus Kruseman
- Figures in a Winter Landscape
- signed and dated FMKruseman / 1863 l.r.
- oil on panel
- 48 by 67cm., 19 by 26 1/2 in.
Provenance
Private Collection, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Catalogue Note
Painted in 1863, the present work was executed when Kruseman lived in Sint-Joost-ten-Node. The building to the right, with its distinctive onion-shaped roof may well have been inspired by the water tower of Sint-Joost-ten-Node, which Kruseman depicted in several other compositions with slight variations.
In 1837 Kruseman travelled to Cleves, where he became a student of Barend Cornelis Koekkoek (see lot 269), one of the founding fathers of Dutch romantic landscape painting. Koekkoek was to have a lasting influence on both his subject matter and style. From him, Kruseman adopted his superb technique and secure handling of paint. He closely followed Koekkoek’s instructions for depicting ice in a convincing way: ‘If the ice is well prepared, i.e., that the background is thoroughly dry, then glaze the reflection on top and do the snow, very lightly, with carmine white and ultramarine. The cracks in the ice are done with very fine brushes, as are the blocks of ice that lie loose on top. To indicate skate tracks in the snow, first apply white and scratch with the handle of the brush in the still-wet paint.’
The present work is a prime example of the highly accomplished winter scenes that Kruseman produced during the 1860s. The coral-shaped twigs of the stylized trees in particular are a typical and characteristic element of Kruseman's painting, which he first employed in the sixties and increasingly emphasized in his later works.
In 1837 Kruseman travelled to Cleves, where he became a student of Barend Cornelis Koekkoek (see lot 269), one of the founding fathers of Dutch romantic landscape painting. Koekkoek was to have a lasting influence on both his subject matter and style. From him, Kruseman adopted his superb technique and secure handling of paint. He closely followed Koekkoek’s instructions for depicting ice in a convincing way: ‘If the ice is well prepared, i.e., that the background is thoroughly dry, then glaze the reflection on top and do the snow, very lightly, with carmine white and ultramarine. The cracks in the ice are done with very fine brushes, as are the blocks of ice that lie loose on top. To indicate skate tracks in the snow, first apply white and scratch with the handle of the brush in the still-wet paint.’
The present work is a prime example of the highly accomplished winter scenes that Kruseman produced during the 1860s. The coral-shaped twigs of the stylized trees in particular are a typical and characteristic element of Kruseman's painting, which he first employed in the sixties and increasingly emphasized in his later works.