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Lot Essay
Mesdag's international career really began with the gold medal he received at the Salon Paris in 1870 for the painting Les Brisants de la Mer du Nord. He exhibited two paintings that year in Paris, Les Brisants de la Mer du Nord and Ine journee d'hiver à Scheveningen. Mesdag himself was very pleased with Une journee d'hiver à Scheveningen and thought it would be a success in Paris. However, he received the golden medal for Les Brisants de la Mer du Nord. One of the members of the jury (Charles Chaplin) was so impressed by this painting that he bought it for 2500 Francs. Stimulated by his success in Paris and his love for the sea, Mesdag focused on the North Sea and the fishermen there. A period of great recognition began. Following his Parisian medal he received numerous other accolades including a gold medal from the municipality of The Hague in 1872.
Mesdag came to be seen as the best painter of the activities of the North Sea and one of the most respected artists of The Hague School movement. He was a great tribute to the tradition of fine Dutch seascape painting and a strong reminder of the very Romantic notions once associated with the sea. In 1908, the art-historian G.H. Marius commented: 'Hendrik Willem Mesdag came, with his direct, realistic point of view, to surprise the world with the fact that the unbiased painting of the sea, straight from nature, the aspects of the North Sea coast were now for the first time represented as they appeared before our eyes' (see: G.H. Marius, Dutch Painters of the 19th Century, Suffolk, 1908, p. 156). His abilities as a seascape painter were at the time unrivalled. The extraordinary colours, perfect clouds and the beautiful reflection in the sea were all unmistakable characteristics of his work. Mesdag's commitment to the sea was unwavering, he moved in 1869 from Brussels (where he had his first lessons from Willem Roelofs) to the coast and settled in The Hague just to be closer to his source of inspiration. Even when industrialization changed the coastline of his beloved Scheveningen forever around the turn of the century, he still visited the sea every day, as it held so many memories for him and which had defined his sense of beauty.
Every year Mesdag would paint one or two paintings especially for the Salon, like the present lot entitled Un jour de Novembre, Scheveningue painted for the Salon of 1880. Since the 17th-century, Paris had the tradition of an annual exhibition in May (the 'Salon de Mai' or simply the 'Salon'). Works of art were selected by a strict jury which was also responsible for awarding prizes. For (young) artists exposure at the salon represented a significant (international) recognition of their work. Not only at the Salons in Paris Mesdag's paintings were rewarded, between 1873 and 1896 he received various awards and medals at international exhibitions in London (1873), Lyon (1876), Philadelphia (1876), Amsterdam (1880), Berlin (1886) and Florence (1896). In 1899 he excelled again in Paris with an exhibition at the art dealer Durand-Ruel and in 1902 he was officially honored with a medal of honor by the French Republic and became officer in the French Legion d'honneur.
The present lot depicts the Scheveningen fishing fleet arriving near the Scheveningen coast at a windy day in November. The fishermen are busy with lowering their sails and anchoring their vessels in the heavy waves. The treatment of light is exceptional: the tumultuous sea attains a transparency even though many deep hues are applied. Green, grey, white and brown are used to construct the waves with thick foaming heads. The light breaking through the clouds creates a strong dynamic and a lit background for the ships in the front, the sky itself infused with soft hues, and is strikingly rendered. The sturdy Bomschuiten have bright colourful sails that provide a wonderful counterpoint with their surroundings. The great sky is built up from countless tones of white and grey set against a clear blue. The present important painting provides the opportunity to revisit the natural beauty of the North Sea and the typical Bomschuiten that dominated the coastal view in the 19th Century. It is an excellent example of the skill and techniques which Mesdag used in his works, and a great tribute to the Dutch marine tradition.
Mesdag came to be seen as the best painter of the activities of the North Sea and one of the most respected artists of The Hague School movement. He was a great tribute to the tradition of fine Dutch seascape painting and a strong reminder of the very Romantic notions once associated with the sea. In 1908, the art-historian G.H. Marius commented: 'Hendrik Willem Mesdag came, with his direct, realistic point of view, to surprise the world with the fact that the unbiased painting of the sea, straight from nature, the aspects of the North Sea coast were now for the first time represented as they appeared before our eyes' (see: G.H. Marius, Dutch Painters of the 19th Century, Suffolk, 1908, p. 156). His abilities as a seascape painter were at the time unrivalled. The extraordinary colours, perfect clouds and the beautiful reflection in the sea were all unmistakable characteristics of his work. Mesdag's commitment to the sea was unwavering, he moved in 1869 from Brussels (where he had his first lessons from Willem Roelofs) to the coast and settled in The Hague just to be closer to his source of inspiration. Even when industrialization changed the coastline of his beloved Scheveningen forever around the turn of the century, he still visited the sea every day, as it held so many memories for him and which had defined his sense of beauty.
Every year Mesdag would paint one or two paintings especially for the Salon, like the present lot entitled Un jour de Novembre, Scheveningue painted for the Salon of 1880. Since the 17th-century, Paris had the tradition of an annual exhibition in May (the 'Salon de Mai' or simply the 'Salon'). Works of art were selected by a strict jury which was also responsible for awarding prizes. For (young) artists exposure at the salon represented a significant (international) recognition of their work. Not only at the Salons in Paris Mesdag's paintings were rewarded, between 1873 and 1896 he received various awards and medals at international exhibitions in London (1873), Lyon (1876), Philadelphia (1876), Amsterdam (1880), Berlin (1886) and Florence (1896). In 1899 he excelled again in Paris with an exhibition at the art dealer Durand-Ruel and in 1902 he was officially honored with a medal of honor by the French Republic and became officer in the French Legion d'honneur.
The present lot depicts the Scheveningen fishing fleet arriving near the Scheveningen coast at a windy day in November. The fishermen are busy with lowering their sails and anchoring their vessels in the heavy waves. The treatment of light is exceptional: the tumultuous sea attains a transparency even though many deep hues are applied. Green, grey, white and brown are used to construct the waves with thick foaming heads. The light breaking through the clouds creates a strong dynamic and a lit background for the ships in the front, the sky itself infused with soft hues, and is strikingly rendered. The sturdy Bomschuiten have bright colourful sails that provide a wonderful counterpoint with their surroundings. The great sky is built up from countless tones of white and grey set against a clear blue. The present important painting provides the opportunity to revisit the natural beauty of the North Sea and the typical Bomschuiten that dominated the coastal view in the 19th Century. It is an excellent example of the skill and techniques which Mesdag used in his works, and a great tribute to the Dutch marine tradition.