The exhibition at the Gemeentemuseum in Den Haag charts the evolution of one of the most productive and important members of The Hague School, Willem Maris (1844 – 1910). He was the only one who was a real Impressionist, employing bright colours and loose brushwork. He painted the simple life of the countryside with broad brushstrokes and his pictures seem to vibrate with light. The show will be the first ever solo exhibition of work by this lyrical interpreter of the Dutch landscape since his death in 1910. Maris was still very young when he began to rove the countryside and paint what he saw. His two elder brothers, Jacob and Matthijs, were also artists but Willem was the only one of the three to be commercially successful throughout his career. Through some 50 paintings and 30 drawings, it explores the artist’s oeuvre in all its facets, from the misty early landscapes right through to the distinctive mature style, featuring the fresh, vivid palette that earned him the soubriquet of the ‘Hague School Impressionist’.
