Jan Zoetelief Tromp Dutch, 1872-1947

In the early part of his career, Jan Zoetelief Tromp specialized in Laren School subjects, especially interior scenes in dark tonalities.
This changed after the turn of the century. In 1906 Jan and his wife Marie Zoetelief Tromp-Blommers and their children rented the villa Saskia in the coastal village of Katwijk  for the summer. In this period his style developed from accurately drawn to a more flowingly painted impressionism. Shapes became more indistinct and his palette grew more luminous, with subtle light effects. Some critics recognised the influence of his father-in-law, the famous Hague School painter Bernard Blommers.

All this is clearly visible in the current lot, a joyous version of the so-called "return scene". This was a theme that Zoetelief Tromp painted quite often, consisting of a strolling farmer's family where at least one of the children holds the hand of a parent or older sibling, while in the other clutching a bunch of flowers or a basket. On the American art market such scenes were known as "return of the tulip fields" and this motif had become somewhat of his speciality. It is easy to see why: the radiant colours and charming children make for a lovely composition, which exudes a joyous optimism of its own.