Hendrik Willem Mesdag

Quotes

• “Roelofs' [his teacher then] advice is to paint rather thick, that is to say firmly in the paint and use this preferably without any oil or turpentine.. .I hope you will understand it well, not thick in color, because he [Roelofs] only achieves that haze and the strength of colors by painting it over repeatedly. (translation from original Dutch: Fons Heijnsbroek)”
• “I have studied the subject and painted it directly to nature [his painting 'Scheveningen strandgezicht / Scheveningen, beach view'] and I have tried to reproduce that motif simply and unaffectedly, with no desire to make a painting with a lot of 'éclat' [glow]. (translation from original Dutch: Fons Heijnsbroek)”
• “I have rented a room in Scheveningen to make studies from nature. It is a room with view on the sea; I hope to make there beautiful things, and to keep moving forward. (translation from original Dutch: Fons Heijnsbroek)”
• “It was fatal news: the sudden death of our boy, a three-day illness ended his life. What is our house empty.. .,which for eight years [age of their son] was the illusion of our lives. Fortunately for us that we love art and let us hope that we [Mesdag and Sientje, his wife] continue to dedicate our lives to our painting, which has given me already so much pleasure.. (translation from original Dutch: Fons Heijnsbroek)”
• “..the art-reviews on my work in the French and English magazines.. ..[are] enough to claim that I already have reached a prominent position among today's marine painters. I would also like to take this fact into consideration when determining my prices. (translation from original Dutch: Fons Heijnsbroek)”
• “At the coast you can see the most beautiful sea. I also made my panorama there. I regard it as my most important work; because it gives such a huge impression of nature. But I don't like to start it all again; to paint sixteen hundred meters of canvas there.. (translation from original Dutch: Fons Heijnsbroek)”

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