Anton Mauve
Encyclopedia
Anthonij Rudolf Mauve (18 September 1838, Zaandam
, North Holland
– 5 February 1888, Arnhem
) was a Dutch realist
painter who was a leading member of the Hague School
. He signed his paintings 'A. Mauve' or with a monogrammed 'A.M.'. He was a very significant early influence on his cousin-in-law Vincent van Gogh
.
Most of Mauve's work depicts people and animals in outdoor settings. In his Morning Ride in the Rijksmuseum
, for example, fashionable equestrians at the seacoast are seen riding away from the viewer. An unconventional detail, horse droppings in the foreground, attests his commitment to realism. His best known paintings depict peasants working in the fields and especially sheep herding scenes. His paintings of flocks of sheep were especially popular with American patrons.
province of North Holland
. A year after his birth his father, a Mennonite
chaplain, was sent to Haarlem
, the capital city of the province, where Mauve grew up.
He was apprenticed to the painter Pieter Frederik van Os
followed by Wouter Verschuur
. In his further development he worked with Paul Gabriël, painting from nature, and they regularly stayed and worked together at Oosterbeek
, the 'Dutch Barbizon
'.
In 1872 Mauve settled in The Hague
where he became a leading member of the Hague School
of painters inspired by the French Barbizon School
in turn by the work of John Constable
.
In the last two years of his life Mauve settled in the village of Laren
in the region surrounding Hilversum
called het Gooi
. The group of painters who settled there, including Jozef Israëls
and Albert Neuhuys, came to be known collectively as the Larense School and the region around het Gooi was dubbed 'Mauve land' as far afield as the United States.
Mauve died suddenly in Arnhem on 5 February 1888.
Vincent spent three weeks at Mauve's studio at the end of 1881 and during that time he made his first experiments in painting under Mauve's tutelage, first in oils and then early the next year in watercolour (previously he had concentrated on drawing). Mauve continued to encourage him and lent him money to rent and furnish a studio but later grew cold towards him and did not return a number of letters.
In a letter to his brother Theo van Gogh
dated 7 May 1882 Vincent describes "a very regrettable conversation" in which Mauve told him their association was "over and done with" adding by way of explanation that Vincent had a vicious character. Vincent continued his letter by expressing his sorrow and then defiantly launches into a defence of his relationship with Clasina (Sien) Maria Hoornik
, a pregnant prostitute he had befriended.
The reality was that they were lovers. The presumption must be that Mauve had heard of the relationship (although Van Gogh's letter does not say so expressly) and broke off the association because of it. Nevertheless Van Gogh continued to hold Mauve in very high esteem and dedicated one of his most iconic paintings to Mauve's memory after hearing of his sudden death.
Mauve's mother Elisabeth Margaretha Hirschig was a first cousin twice removed
of Anton Hirschig
, the young Dutch artist who was a fellow lodger with Van Gogh at the Auberge Ravoux at the time of Van Gogh's death.
Zaandam
Zaandam is a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the main city of the municipality of Zaanstad, and received city rights in 1811...
, North Holland
North Holland
North Holland |West Frisian]]: Noard-Holland) is a province situated on the North Sea in the northwest part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is Haarlem and its largest city is Amsterdam.-Geography:...
– 5 February 1888, Arnhem
Arnhem
Arnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem has 146,095 residents as one of the...
) was a Dutch realist
Realism (arts)
Realism in the visual arts and literature refers to the general attempt to depict subjects "in accordance with secular, empirical rules", as they are considered to exist in third person objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation...
painter who was a leading member of the Hague School
Hague School
The Hague School is the name given to a group of artists who lived and worked in The Hague between 1860 and 1890. Their work was heavily influenced by the realist painters of the French Barbizon school. The painters of the Hague school generally made use of relatively sombre colours, which is why...
. He signed his paintings 'A. Mauve' or with a monogrammed 'A.M.'. He was a very significant early influence on his cousin-in-law Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
.
Most of Mauve's work depicts people and animals in outdoor settings. In his Morning Ride in the Rijksmuseum
Rijksmuseum
The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam or simply Rijksmuseum is a Dutch national museum in Amsterdam, located on the Museumplein. The museum is dedicated to arts, crafts, and history. It has a large collection of paintings from the Dutch Golden Age and a substantial collection of Asian art...
, for example, fashionable equestrians at the seacoast are seen riding away from the viewer. An unconventional detail, horse droppings in the foreground, attests his commitment to realism. His best known paintings depict peasants working in the fields and especially sheep herding scenes. His paintings of flocks of sheep were especially popular with American patrons.
Life and work
Anton Mauve was born on 18 September 1838 in Zaandam, a town in the DutchNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
province of North Holland
North Holland
North Holland |West Frisian]]: Noard-Holland) is a province situated on the North Sea in the northwest part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is Haarlem and its largest city is Amsterdam.-Geography:...
. A year after his birth his father, a Mennonite
Mennonite
The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...
chaplain, was sent to Haarlem
Haarlem
Haarlem is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic...
, the capital city of the province, where Mauve grew up.
He was apprenticed to the painter Pieter Frederik van Os
Pieter van Os
Pieter Gerardus van Os was a Dutch painter and engraver and a member of the renowned Van Os family of artists....
followed by Wouter Verschuur
Wouterus Verschuur
Wouterus Verschuur was a Dutch painter of animal subjects – mainly horses – and of landscapes. He is one of the later representatives of Romanticism in Dutch art.-Life and career:...
. In his further development he worked with Paul Gabriël, painting from nature, and they regularly stayed and worked together at Oosterbeek
Oosterbeek
Oosterbeek is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is located in the municipality of Renkum, about 5 km west of Arnhem.The oldest part of the village of Oosterbeek is the Benedendorp , on the northern bank of the river Rhine...
, the 'Dutch Barbizon
Barbizon
Barbizon is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in north-central France. It is located near the Fontainebleau Forest.-Art history:The Barbizon school of painters is named after the village; Théodore Rousseau and Jean-François Millet, leaders of the school, made their homes and died in the...
'.
In 1872 Mauve settled in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
where he became a leading member of the Hague School
Hague School
The Hague School is the name given to a group of artists who lived and worked in The Hague between 1860 and 1890. Their work was heavily influenced by the realist painters of the French Barbizon school. The painters of the Hague school generally made use of relatively sombre colours, which is why...
of painters inspired by the French Barbizon School
Barbizon school
The Barbizon school of painters were part of a movement towards realism in art, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. The Barbizon school was active roughly from 1830 through 1870...
in turn by the work of John Constable
John Constable
John Constable was an English Romantic painter. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for his landscape paintings of Dedham Vale, the area surrounding his home—now known as "Constable Country"—which he invested with an intensity of affection...
.
In the last two years of his life Mauve settled in the village of Laren
Laren
is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Located in the region called 't Gooi, it is the oldest town in that area. It is one of the richest towns in the Netherlands, along with its neighbour Blaricum...
in the region surrounding Hilversum
Hilversum
is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Located in the region called "'t Gooi", it is the largest town in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller villages...
called het Gooi
Gooi
Het Gooi is the area around Hilversum in the centre of the Netherlands. It is a slightly hilly area characterised by its green landscape, its historical charm, the wealth of its inhabitants, and its villas. Het Gooi is known in the Netherlands as the home of the rich and famous.- Name :The name...
. The group of painters who settled there, including Jozef Israëls
Jozef Israëls
Jozef Israëls was a Dutch painter, and "the most respected Dutch artist of the second half of the nineteenth century".-Youth:...
and Albert Neuhuys, came to be known collectively as the Larense School and the region around het Gooi was dubbed 'Mauve land' as far afield as the United States.
Mauve died suddenly in Arnhem on 5 February 1888.
Relationship with Vincent Van Gogh
Mauve was married to Vincent's cousin Ariëtte (Jet) Sophia Jeannette Carbentus and was a major influence on Van Gogh. He is mentioned directly in 152 of Vincent's surviving letters. A comparative table of number of letters mentioning his most significant influences is shown below.Vincent spent three weeks at Mauve's studio at the end of 1881 and during that time he made his first experiments in painting under Mauve's tutelage, first in oils and then early the next year in watercolour (previously he had concentrated on drawing). Mauve continued to encourage him and lent him money to rent and furnish a studio but later grew cold towards him and did not return a number of letters.
In a letter to his brother Theo van Gogh
Theo van Gogh (art dealer)
Theodorus "Theo" van Gogh was a Dutch art dealer. He was the younger brother of Vincent van Gogh, and Theo's unfailing financial and emotional support allowed his brother to devote himself entirely to painting...
dated 7 May 1882 Vincent describes "a very regrettable conversation" in which Mauve told him their association was "over and done with" adding by way of explanation that Vincent had a vicious character. Vincent continued his letter by expressing his sorrow and then defiantly launches into a defence of his relationship with Clasina (Sien) Maria Hoornik
Sien (Van Gogh series)
Vincent van Gogh drew and painted a series of works of his mistress Sien during their time together in the Netherlands. Commonly called Sien Hoornik, Clasina Maria Hoornik lived with Vincent van Gogh during much of his time in The Hague from 1881 to 1883. Van Gogh used Sien, a pregnant prostitute,...
, a pregnant prostitute he had befriended.
- "People suspect me of something... it’s in the air... I must be hiding something... Vincent is keeping something back that may not be divulged.. Well, gentlemen, I’ll tell you – you who set great store by manners and culture, and rightly so, provided it’s the real thing – what is more cultured, more sensitive, more manly: to forsake a woman or to take on a forsaken one?"
-
- (cf. Sorrow (1882), Lithograph, Private collection)
-
The reality was that they were lovers. The presumption must be that Mauve had heard of the relationship (although Van Gogh's letter does not say so expressly) and broke off the association because of it. Nevertheless Van Gogh continued to hold Mauve in very high esteem and dedicated one of his most iconic paintings to Mauve's memory after hearing of his sudden death.
- "Now here, for instance, at this moment, I have 6 paintings of blossoming fruit trees. And the one I brought home today would possibly appeal to you — it’s a dug-over patch of ground in an orchard, a wicker fence and two peach trees in full bloom, pink against a sparkling blue sky with white clouds and in sunshine. You may well see it, since I’ve decided to send this one to Jet Mauve. I’ve written on it 'Souvenir de Mauve Vincent & Theo'."
Mauve's mother Elisabeth Margaretha Hirschig was a first cousin twice removed
Cousin
In kinship terminology, a cousin is a relative with whom one shares one or more common ancestors. The term is rarely used when referring to a relative in one's immediate family where there is a more specific term . The term "blood relative" can be used synonymously and establishes the existence of...
of Anton Hirschig
Anton Hirschig
Antonius Matthias Hirschig , also known as Tony or Tom, was a Dutch artist who, as a young man, lodged with Vincent van Gogh at the Auberge Ravoux in Auvers-sur-Oise at the time of Van Gogh's death in 1890.-Biography:Antonius Matthias Hirschig was born on 18 February 1867 in Naarden, a town in the...
, the young Dutch artist who was a fellow lodger with Van Gogh at the Auberge Ravoux at the time of Van Gogh's death.
Selected works
- Entering the Fold (circa 1885-8), drawing and watercolour, Tate Gallery
- Milking Time (circa 1875), oil on canvas, National Gallery
- Landscape with cattle, chalk on paper, Courtauld Institute
- Shepherdess, oil on canvas, Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum of Wales
- Morning Ride (1876), oil on canvas, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
- Rider in the Snow (1879), watercolour and gouache, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
- De Torenlaan te Laren (1886), oil on canvas, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
- Ariëtte Carbentus, wife of the artist, sitting in the dunes (circa 1876), oil on canvas, Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague (private collection)
- Gathering Seaweed, oil on canvas, Musée d'Orsay, Paris
- Changing Pasture (circa 1880s), oil on canvas, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
- Return of the Flock, Laren (circa 1186 -1887), oil on canvas, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia
- Digging up a Tree, watercolor, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
- Returning Home, oil on wood, Art Gallery of New South Wales
External links
- RKD databases Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague
- De Valk Lexicon kunstenaars Laren-Blaricum Larense School
- Singer Laren en Teylers Museum duo-tentoonstelling Anton Mauve retrospective
- Anton Mauve at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
- The Hague School and young Van Gogh at the Gemeentemuseum, The Hague