Art Gallery

Mauve, Anton (1838 - 1888), Antonij (Anton) Mauve was born in Zaandam in 1838. At the age of 16, he left for Haarlem where he was apprenticed to the artist Pieter Frederik van Os a specialist in cattle, followed by Wouterus Verschuur who painted horses. Together with Paul Gabriel, ten years his senior, he would often go into the countryside to paint directly from nature. From the age of twenty he regularly stayed and worked in Oosterbeek, where many artists went, as well as in The Hague, Scheveningen, Amsterdam, Dordrecht and Drenthe. In 1871 he moved into a studio in The Hague, where he became a prominent figure in the art world. With his evocative landscapes of fields with cattle Mauve belonged to the the Hague School. In 1882 Mauve began to paint in Laren in the summer, eventually moving to the village in 1885. By that time his work was widely known and in demand with collectors in Holland and abroad. Landscapes with sheep were particularly popular in America; in fact a distinction was made between 'sheep coming' and the slightly less expensive 'sheep going'.

Anton Mauve was one of the leading Dutch landscape and animal painters of the 19th century. He was a prominent member of "the Hague School," a group of Dutch realist painters who sought to paint everyday life in a direct and realistic manner. Their works resemble the pictures of the French Barbizon artists, especially Jean François Millet, and also Jules Dupré and Constant Troyon. Mauve specialized in landscapes and rural subjects. The Dutch artists also sought to revive the tradition of naturalism that had characterized 17th century Dutch painting. Noteworthy for the delicacy of the tonal gradations and nuances of color, Snow Scene with Sheep is typical of Mauve's works. Although a realist scene, it also represents a nostalgia for a way of life that was already disappearing.

Mauve influenced a number of painters, including his nephew Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890). Long before he became an artist, Vincent admired Mauve's paintings. In 1877, he praised "a very fine one -- a Shepard with a flock of sheep crossing the dunes" which he had seen in the collection of his uncle (Letter, October 30, 1877). As Mauve painted many similar images, this may not be the present painting. Van Gogh commented that "A picture by Mauve or Maris or Israëls says more, and says it more clearly, than nature herself." (Letter, June 1879) In late 1881, Van Gogh studied with Mauve at a critical period in his development. Mauve taught Van Gogh to paint in watercolor and to explore the use of color in oil. Although the two soon quarreled, Vincent continued to admire Mauve' art and his success. He mentions Mauve in over 150 letters. Upon hearing of Mauve's death in 1888, Van Gogh labeled his finest landscape study in Arles "Souvenir de Mauve."

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