Willem Roelofs Dutch, 1822-1897

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Description

Willem Roelofs
two windmills and a farmhouse in a polder landscape
signed l.l.
oil on panel
14,5 by 24 cm.

Provenance

Sale Amsterdam (Frederik Muller), April 1947, lot 607
Sale Amsterdam (Sotheby Mak van Waay), March 1976, lot 319, illustrated p. 183
Collection B. de Geus van den Heuvel (1976), Nieuwersluis aan de Vecht

Exhibited

Dordrecht, Dordrechts Museum, Ons Element, 1951, no. 48
Schiedam, Stedelijk Museum, Ons Element, 1952/1953, no. 48
Laren, Singer Museum, Meesters van de Haagse School en enige tijdgenoten, no. 227
Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum, Van Romantiek tot Amsterdamse School, Schilderijen uit de collectie B. de Geus van den Heuvel, 1958, no. C16
Laren, Singer Museum, Schilderkunst uit La Belle Epoque, 1964, no. 110

Literature

H.E. van Gelder, Meesters van de Haagse School en enige tijdgenoten, no. 227
Schilderkunst uit La Belle Epoque, 1964, no. 110, ill.no. 28

Catalogue Note

The Polderlandschap met twee windmolens en een boerderij as well as the Environs de la Haye (see lot 310) belong to the spontaneous oil paint sketches that Roelofs painted outdoors. This composition shows certain similarities with Polderlandschap met molen bij Abcoude (The Hague Gemeentemuseum, canvas 47 x 74 cm) depicting just one mill. It is not clear whether Roelofs was directly inspired by the oil paint sketch to paint this larger piece, which shows considerable differences in its composition. The mill near Abcoude takes up the same position in the composition of both pieces. In the oil paint sketch, the artist was captivated the most by the reflection of the cloudy sky in the lake while in the larger painting his attention was drawn to the movement of the reed at the side of a ditch.