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WATERING HORSES
BY ANTON MAUVE (1838-1888)
IN THE NATIONAL GALLERY, LONDON
Anton Mauve is a worthy representative of the modern Dutch School. He was born at Zaandam, and his early ambition was to become an artist. His family did not approve of his following so precarious a calling, and opposed his desire; but in spite of all opposition, he embarked upon serious work and never abandoned that course of life which he had mapped out for himself from the first. He was rather delicate all his days, and his poor health rendered him liable to fits of depression, which very frequently made themselves evident in his painting. He was profoundly influenced by Millet, and, like him, possessed a limited range of colour, silver greys, browns and greens as a rule making up his palette. Like the work of Cazin, his landscapes seem to reveal his moods and express the sadness which he feels. But in spite of his melancholy and his preference for subdued colours, Mauve's pictures are distinguished by great tenderness and an exquisite atmospheric quality which pervades all his landscapes. He was a hard worker as well as a successful one, and he soon gained recognition both in his own country and in England and America. He died at Arnhem in 1888.
The present picture, which illustrates the sympathetic insight with which he painted animals, came into the possession of the nation in 1910, as a gift from Mr. J. C. J. Drucker.
From the book "Famous Paintings" Volume 2 printed in 1913.
Large files of this public domain print are available at Stock Photos at Songs of Praise
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Online "Name the Painting"
Anton Mauve
links at ArtCyclopedia
Anton Mauve
at Wikipedia
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