Landschap met een boom c. 1876 - 1879

Anton Mauve created this charcoal drawing of a tree and landscape in the Netherlands sometime in the mid-to-late nineteenth century. Mauve belonged to the Hague School, a group of Dutch artists working around The Hague who reacted against the grand, historical style of the Dutch Academy. These artists embraced a more informal, naturalistic approach to painting. They were influenced by the Barbizon School in France, who also went out into nature to paint landscapes, and captured the changing effects of light and atmosphere. In this drawing, Mauve uses the charcoal to create a sense of light and shadow on the tree and in the background. Mauve’s work reflects a growing interest in nature, and a desire to capture the beauty of the everyday world. To fully appreciate Mauve’s place in art history, we can look to exhibition reviews, artists’ correspondence, and the writings of contemporary critics to better understand the changing social and cultural attitudes towards nature in the Netherlands during this time.