This beautiful mid-19th-century Dutch school oil painting depicts figures crossing a river at twilight. It’s reminiscent of works by Remigius van Haanen (1812-1894), a distinguished painter/etcher of landscapes and genre scenes.

A sturdy wooden barge laden with goods carries five figures across a restful waterway as a hazy, partially-obscured sun, falls gently towards the horizon. A distant spire, nestled beyond trees, punctures the drifting clouds. It’s a poignant description of a passing moment elevated by the majesty of nature.

Romanticism during the early 19th century celebrated the imagination. The images, poetry, and feelings, each of us internalise. Be it the gushing prose of Wordsworth, the gasping despair of Géricault, or the lung-filling invigoration of Friedrich, artists and writers looked first inside themselves before interpreting the world around them.

The emergence of the Romantic spirit enabled viewers and readers to escape into a dramatised version of reality. Where snow-tipped mountain ranges engulf intrepid climbers and daffodils flutter like buoyant Regency ballrooms.

Artists in The Netherlands expressed these Romantic ideologies in their own way - with an abundance of mood but less melodrama. They had the advantage of looking back for inspiration to the ‘Golden Age’ masters, such as Jacob van Ruisdael, Jan Both and Hobbema. After all, the Dutch had been painting with soul for over 200 years.

Remigius (Remy) van Haanen had his father to thank for his early development as a painter of distinction. Casparis Haanen, a paper cutter, was an aficionado of art and collected a veritable library of old master engravings. He taught each of his children to draw and it was a family of great artistic merit. His eldest son, Georg Gillis, became known for nocturnes, Elisabeth Alida for scenes, and Adriana Johanna for exquisite still lifes.

Following his father’s early tuition, Remigus undertook his formal training at the Academy of Utrecht before embarking on an extensive tour of southern Europe to broaden his experience. With each new city, he confronted a fresh panorama - plenty of opportunities to fill his sketchbook. It also opened the door to exhibition opportunities and a variety of interested buyers.

In 1842, he settled in Vienna where he remained for the next fifty years. It’s here that he established a reputation as one of the foremost painters of his type, with “almost every art exhibition” featuring “one or more paintings by him, which then regularly found their way into the galleries of enthusiasts.”

His fine painting style was underpinned by his significant ability as a draughtsman and his drawings are a particular delight. He possessed an acute understanding of the nuances of chiaroscuro and could render nature at its most believable. His deft handling of glistening snow illuminated by moonlight was also exemplary.

In around 1847, Lambertini, editor of the ‘Milan Gazzetta’, described his traits as: “Clear and decisive thought, softness of the brush, melting of the colours. Truth of conception, infinite care and that unity of the whole which is truly enchanting!"

Later in life, much like his father, he collected numerous drawings, etchings and engravings by the Golden Age masters, including ‘Saskia in Bed’ and other studies by Rembrandt. He was an elected member of several academies such as those in Amsterdam, Milan and Venice.

Remigius van Haanen is represented at the Rijksmuseum, The British Museum and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Monogrammed illegibly in the lower left and held within an ornate gilt frame, which is probably original. 

Learn more about Remigius van Haanen in our directory.

Medium: Oil on panel
Overall size: 35” x 26½” / 89cm x 67cm
Year of creation: 1852
Provenance: Auction, Gothenburg, Sweden (2013) / With an art dealer, Northumberland, UK / Private collection, UK.
Condition: Cleaned. Craquelure in areas. The paint layer is stable. Frame with various marks and showing its age.
Artist’s auction maximum: £48,119 for ‘Winterlandschaft mit Holzsammlern (1869)’, Oil on canvas, Auction, Vienna, Austria, 2010.
Our reference: BRV1909