Floris Arntzenius (1864-1925)

Pieter Florentius Nicolaas Jacobus Arntzenius was a Dutch painter, water-colourist, illustrator and printmaker.

He is considered a representative of the younger generation of the Hague School.

Arntzenius was born in Surabaya on the island of Java where his father served in the Royal Dutch East Indies Army.

In 1875, at the age of 11, he was sent to the Netherlands to Amsterdam to live with his aunt and uncle in order to complete his education.

In 1882 he became a student of Frederik Nachtweh, under Nachtweh's supervision he gained admission to the Rijksacademie van Beeldende Kunsten. During his time at the Rijksacademie, from 1883-1888, his teachers included August Allebé and Barend Wijnveld, and amongst his fellow students were Isaac Israëls, George Breitner, Willem Witsen and Jan Veth.

Frans Stracké | The Two Mothers, 1893 | Rijksmuseum

Franz Stracké created this sculpture in terracotta in 1893. The title "Two Mothers" refers to the woman and the dog, positioned at her feet looking upwards, whose puppies she is carrying. This work by Franz Stracké is exhibited at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

This sweet scene reflects increasing interest in the lives of fishermen. The statue shows a young woman holding her child, with her dog’s puppies gathered in her apron. Yet life is not a bed of roses for this barefoot fisherman’s wife. She has only two fish in her pouch, and the net that she drags behind her is empty. | Rijksmuseum

Frans Stracké | The Two Mothers, 1893 (detail) | Rijksmuseum

Vincent van Gogh | The Olive Trees series

Vincent van Gogh painted at least 15 paintings of olive trees, mostly in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence in 1889. At his own request, he lived at an asylum there from May 1889 through May 1890 painting the gardens of the asylum and, when he had permission to venture outside its walls, nearby olive trees, cypresses and wheat fields.

One painting, "Olive Trees in a Mountainous Landscape", was a complement to "The Starry Night".

The olive tree paintings had special significance for van Gogh.

Vincent van Gogh | Couple Walking among Olive Trees in a Mountainous Landscape with Crescent Moon 1890 | Museu de Arte de Sao Paulo

Vincent van Gogh | Le pont de Trinquetaille, 1888

The fifteen months that Van Gogh spent at Arles in 1888-1889 represent a pivotal moment in his career, "the zenith, the climax, the greatest flowering of Van Gogh's decade of artistic activity", according to Ronald Pickvance.

Freed from the pressures of urban life and inspired by the brilliant Provençal light, the artist integrated the results of months of experimentation and produced one modern masterpiece after another. With its bold composition and expressive palette, "Le pont de Trinquetaille" epitomizes his mature style.

Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder | Baroque painter

Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder (1573-1621) was a Flemish-born Dutch still life painter and art dealer.

He is recognised as one of the earliest painters who created floral still lifes as an independent genre.

He founded a dynasty of painters who continued his style of floral and fruit painting and turned Middelburg into the leading centre for flower painting in the Dutch Republic.

Willem Kalf (1619-1693) | Dutch Golden Age painter

Willem Kalf was a Dutch Golden Age painter who specialized in still lifes. Later in his life, Kalf became an art dealer and appraiser.

Life and work

Willem Kalf was born in Rotterdam, in 1619. He was previously thought to have been born in 1622, but H. E. van Gelder's important archival research has established the painter's correct place and date of birth. Kalf was born into a prosperous patrician family in Rotterdam, where his father, a cloth merchant, held municipal posts as well.

Rembrandt | Adoration of the Magi, 1632 | Hermitage Museum

The Adoration of the Magi (anglicized from the Matthean Vulgate Latin section title: A Magis adoratur) is the name traditionally given to the subject in the Nativity of Jesus in art in which the three Magi, represented as kings, especially in the West, having found Jesus by following a star, lay before him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and worship him.

Adrianus Eversen (1818-1897) | Cityscapes painter

Dutch painter🎨 Adrianus Eversen portrayed the typical 19th century Dutch atmosphere in his work. As a member of Arti et Amicitiae he belonged to the society of elite artists of his time.

Eversen was a contemporary of Cornelis Springer.

Both painters were students of Hendrik Gerrit ten Cate at the same time, and usually painted contemporary regional (Oud-Hollandse) cityscapes.

In his choice of subjects, Eversen allowed himself more freedom.