Herfstlandschap 1861 - 1904

Théophile de Bock made this drawing, "Autumn Landscape," with graphite on paper, but when exactly, we are not certain. The Rijksmuseum places it as simply “n.d.” De Bock was associated with the Hague School, a group of Dutch landscape painters active between 1860 and 1890. These artists rejected the grandiose romanticism of earlier generations, instead choosing to paint simple scenes of everyday life, with close attention to the effects of light and atmosphere. De Bock lived in a time of significant social change in the Netherlands, as the country industrialized and modernized. We see this mirrored in art, as academic traditions were challenged by new artistic movements like Impressionism and Realism, which focused on contemporary life and the natural world. To understand De Bock's artistic choices, we might consult his personal letters, exhibition reviews from the period, and studies of the art market in the Netherlands at the close of the 19th century. Art history is not just about the artwork itself, but about the whole world in which it was made and viewed.