This early 20th-century oil painting by Dutch artist Julius Jacobus van de Sande Bakhuyzen (1835-1925) depicts a gentle evening landscape with a pond and cattle.

Born in The Hague, Julius Jacobus van de Sande Bakhuyzen’s father was Hendrikus van de Sande Bakhuyzen (1795-1860), a leading figure in Dutch landscape painting and an influential tutor. So, as one can imagine, he was raised among artists and surrounded by creativity during his formative years.

Hendrikus worked in a precise style, modelled after the approach taken by the 17th-century Dutch masters. As such, he championed the benefits of drawing and encouraged his students to work from nature, in the open air. He insisted they produce countless watercolour studies “in order to develop in them the gift of observation”.

By doing so, his students gained an advanced ability for both composition and draughtsmanship. By sharpening their technique, they were able to introduce their own ideas with greater efficacy.

Following his tuition in the technical aspects of painting, young Julius sought inspiration further afield. He was particularly drawn to the emerging ideas of French artists such as Théodore Rousseau (1812-1867) and Charles-François Daubigny (1817-1878) who were painting outside, on the spot, in oils. Their looser, more expressive, style was both exciting and natural - leading to a shift away from the older, more traditional, generation.

In The Hague, Holland, numerous artists began embracing the French style and the result was a movement known as ‘The Hague School’. Bakhuyzen was one of the principal contributors and could interpret a view from both a poetic and technical standpoint. He produced landscapes with finesse and nous, while also conveying nature’s soul, a sense of spirit.

Between around 1840 to 1870, he often worked in Oosterbeek, a popular destination for his father. But it was in Drenthe, north Holland, that he discovered his muse. In a paper from 1898, his friend Lewis Mulder described the special qualities of this area, “perhaps the most picturesque corner of Europe”, where “the genius of Ruysdael and Hobbema still seems to haunt the trees and bushes”. “With its small rural villages nestled behind discreet dunes - sunny, with its flocks of sheep grazing on the edge of oak trees centuries-old, with its red heathers extending for leagues, gilded by the sumptuous sunsets.”

Here, in this work from 1904, he’s captured a picturesque view across a flat landscape with a pond, cattle and figure. A golden glow radiates behind passing clouds. The brushwork is simple, yet descriptive. There’s a sense of utter tranquillity. Ease of form, calmness of spirit.

He often travelled to Drenthe with his sister, the accomplished still-life painter, Gerardina Jacoba van de Sande Bakhuyzen (1826-1896). The two worked closely together for many years, also sharing a workshop in their family home. Gerardina would work by the largest window, surrounded by flowers and light - her brother occasionally smoking his pipe and discussing general affairs. Mulder describes it as a rather messy, but creative, environment in his paper.

“The workshop is cluttered with studies. There are some on all the furniture and in all the corners; the artist consulting now one and then the other of these past impressions, while he proceeds to create a new work”. “The walls are lined or covered with sketches, photographs, engravings, etchings, Delft tiles, pieces of Cordovan or Gobelins leathers”. And “let us point out another table still covered with all kinds of paperwork: sketchbooks, circulars, letters of invitation, announcements of fairs and sales, accounts and registers.” The house itself was built in the 18th century and Bakhuyzen remained there throughout his life. “It is almost a century old. As soon as you enter, the vestibule with its old oak panelling pleasantly impresses you. Everything is frank and opulent”.

Julius Jacobus van de Sande Bakhuyzen was a calm, well-mannered, gentleman and an important contributor to the national art scene. A member of various associations, he played a vital role in the evolution of Dutch landscape painting during the late 19th century and remains popular with collectors. He’s represented at the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

Signed/dated lower right and held within a gilt frame with foliate.

Learn more about Julius Jacobus van de Sande Bakhuyzen in our directory.

Medium: Oil on canvas laid on panel
Overall size: 23” x 19” / 58cm x 48cm
Year of creation: 1904
Labels & Inscriptions: Label on the reverse, which refers to the renowned art collector Pierre Alexandre Regnault.
Provenance: Pierre Alexandre Regnault, Holland / Private collection, Holland.
Condition: Assessed and approved by our conservator. Cleaned. Revarnished. Frame restored. Panel with slight bow.
Artist’s auction maximum: £47,529 for ‘Roses, Violets and Apple Blossom on a Forest Floor’, Oil on panel, Christie’s, Nineteenth Century Art, Amsterdam, 2001 (lot 170).
Our reference: BRV1863