Hendrik Willem Mesdag

Sale Amsterdam (A. Mak), 28 April 1919
Kunsthandel Sala, The Hague
Private collection, France

J. Poort, Hendrik Willem Mesdag 1831-1915. Oeuvrecatalogus, Wassenaar 1989, inv.no. 21.06 on p. 335, illustrated
J. Poort, Hendrik Willem Mesdag 1831-1915. Oeuvrecatalogus in beeld, Wassenaar 2001, no. 685 on p. 45, illustrated

Original canvas. A few very small minor specs in the upper part of the sky. Some light retouches in the sea to the right of the main boat and near the left of the lower edge. Minor retouches along the lower left edge due to frame damage. Light stretcher marks. Otherwise in good condition.
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Hendrik Willem Mesdag, one of the founding fathers of the Hague School, established a great reputation as a painter of seascapes, a subject that fascinated him throughout his entire career. After scoring a huge success with one of his seascapes at the Paris salon in 1870, Mesdag gained international recognition. His marines were in great demand and he became one of the best selling artists of his time. 

Mesdag was born into a wealthy family of bankers, destined to follow in the footsteps of his father. However, after an inheritance had rendered him financially independent, he abandoned his secure position at the bank and followed his artistic ambitions. Mesdag studied for four years with the famous Dutch landscapist Willem Roelofs in Brussels. Under his guidance, he adopted a broad, distinctive style of painting, which was in tune with the ideals of the Barbizon School, that propagated painting en plein air. 

During a stay at the Island of Norderney in 1868, Mesdag became completely fascinated by the sea. His unbiased depiction of the sea, straight from nature, was regarded as new and revolutionary. Many contemporaries realised that his broad touch, impressive truth and tonal power, overpowered the minutely detailed, idealised pictures of the Romantic school. Mesdag's vigorous brushwork and realistic seas were invariably seen as proof that his paintings possessed truth and immediacy. 'It was unmistakable that Mesdag's strength and originality lay there. No one had seen the sea as he did', one art critic wrote.  

In search to be as close as possible to his life-long source of inspiration, the sea, Mesdag moved to The Hague in 1869. He rented a room in the nearby fishing village Scheveningen, which enabled him to go sketching on the beaches and study the North Sea in all its aspects, from quiet serenity (as the present lot shows well) to wild fury. 

The present lot depicts Scheveningen fishing boats in calm weather. This impressive painting, which shows the Hague School at its very best, remained in a French private collection for many decades and was rediscovered only recently.