Hendrik Willem Mesdag (1831-1915) A fishing boat anchored, signed 'H W Mesdag' (lower right), watercolour on paper, 43,5x56,5 cm, Hendrik Willem Mesdag can be regarded as one of the key-members of the Hague School, a Dutch movement in art which had its peak in the 1870s and 1880s. Trained in a Brussels milieu where he received painting lessons from his nephew Laurens Alma Tadema and Willem Roelofs, Mesdag became acquainted there with plein air landscape painting by Belgian and Barbizon artists. Inspired by this innovative movement, Mesdag signed up as a member of the Société Libre des Beaux Arts, a society which promoted studies directly after nature, and soon his studio became a centre of artistic life where Dutch and Belgian painters met. Following a visit to the island of Norderney in 1868, Mesdag decided to become a seascape painter and rented a room in Scheveningen where he could study his source of inspiration closely. His breakthrough came after winning a gold medal at the Paris Salon for his painting 'Les brisants de la Mer du Nord'. Influential international critics immediately praised Mesdag’s innovative use of atmospheric effects and refined tonalities. A Belgian critic admired Mesdag’s ‘truthfulness’ towards reality and personal expression. The idea of a new Dutch movement gained an impetus after the Dutch critic J. van Santen Kolff labelled the paintings by a.o. Jacob Maris and Mesdag as ‘Hague School’ in 1875, sharing the use of free brushstrokes, grey tones and landscapes near The Hague as their subject matter. The Hague School movement was born. Works by these artists are nowadays to be found in several important museums in The Netherlands and abroad. The current lot, titled ‘A fishing boat anchored’, is one of the most outstanding examples of Hague School watercolours. Watercolours were a popular medium for Hague School artists as they offered an opportunity to use different atmospheric hues in a very refined way. Although no outspoken colours were used in the current lot, it has a freshness and vividness that is seldom reached in Hague School watercolours. The subtle tones of the breakers and the daring close-up of the boat make this watercolour one of the highlights of Hague School works on paper. Literature: -Pieter A. Scheen, 'Lexicon Nederlandse Beeldende Kunstenaars 1750-1880', The Hague 1981, ill. no. 597, as: 'Vissersboot voor anker'. -Johan Poort, 'Hendrik Willem Mesdag (1831-1915), Oeuvrecatalogus', Wassenaar 1989, p. 437, ill. no. A 21.05. Provenance: -With Kunsthandel Pieter A. Scheen, The Hague. Starting price : 20000