Feeding Sheep in Winter

Anton Mauve was a leading member of The Hague School who catalyzed dozens of artists in the Netherlands and beyond its borders. He began his career in a refined, rather controlled style but, influenced by his friends Jozef Israels and William Maris, abandoned that in favor of a freer, more aggressive touch with a more somber, muted palette. He was a founding member of both the Teekenmaatschappij in 1876 and the Pulchri Studio. He eventually moved from The Hague to Laren, where other figures such as Jozef Israels and Albert Neuhuys joined him. This region was colloquially called “Mauve land” –an informal artists’ colony that attracted many artists of The Hague School. Perhaps Mauve’s most important acolyte was the young Vincent Van Gogh, to whom he was related by marriage. Although the men quarreled and fell out later in life, Van Gogh credited Mauve with opening his eyes to new means of artistic expression.