Twee schetsen van een meisje met vlinders 1849 - 1917

This drawing of a girl with butterflies was made by Matthijs Maris in the Netherlands. This subtle graphite work shows a young girl surrounded by nature. It is typical of the romantic style that Maris adopted during the late nineteenth century. During this period, many artists looked to the past and mythologized the pre-industrial age. This aesthetic movement valorized imagination, emotion, and the beauty of the natural world. Maris moved to Paris in 1869, and later settled in London. His work was exhibited in the Netherlands by the Hollandsche Teekenmaatschappij, a society founded in 1876 with the goal of stimulating and promoting the art of drawing. It’s interesting to consider how institutions such as this played a role in shaping the market for art. We know about these histories through archival research and by studying exhibition catalogues. These help us to understand how and why art was made.