Breath of fresh air. Summer with the Hague School

Between 1860 and 1900, artists such as Joseph Israels, Jacob and Willem Marisa, Hendrik Willem Mesdag, Johan Hendrik Weissenbruch and Anton Mauve described this in the Hague and around it with unprecedented skill. Each of them masterfully captured the light and atmosphere, creating images that still shape our view of the life and nature of Holland in the 19th century. Their subjects were typical of the western Netherlands: barges, cows, river landscapes, scenes of fish life and the emerging culture of swimming. The City Museum of The Hague has a large collection of works by representatives of the local school. The most valuable are presented at the exhibition “A breath of fresh air. Summer with the Hague School.

Imitating the French artists of the Barbizon School, who worked outdoors around the forests of Fontainebleau, the Dutch went under the open sky. By that time, painters could paint paintings in the open air, thanks to the invention of tubes for paints. Sketches made in nature in the studios turned into instantly recognizable paintings. The most interesting examples presented at the exhibition are “Fishing Boat” and “Gardens near the Hague” (both - 1878) by Jacob Maris, “Trekvlit Channel” (1870) by Johan Hendrik Weissenbruch and “Cows in reeds” (ca. 1890) by Willem Maris.