In 1887, Hendrik Willem and Sientje Mesdag-van Houten had a museum built next to their house: Museum Mesdag. Here they exhibited their own paintings, as well as their collection of Dutch and French art. What kind of art did they like, and where did they buy it?
‘There are so many paintings on the floor that I do not know where to put them’.
Undated letter from Hendrik Willem Mesdag to art dealers E.J. van Wisselingh & Co
Open on Sunday mornings
Museum Mesdag was open on Sunday mornings by appointment only. Hendrik Willem himself guided the visitors around. He always began his tours with his and Sientje’s studios before showing visitors the collection in the museum.
Museum Mesdag on the Laan van Meerdervoort
Born to be collectors
Collecting was in Hendrik Willem and Sientje’s blood, as both the Mesdag and Van Houten families had collected art. Hendrik Willem and Sientje bought their first artworks around 1866 when they were living in Brussels. They were cautious at first, but later they would buy several works of art at a time. Their house became fuller and fuller.
Artist friends
Hendrik Willem and Sientje had many artist friends whose paintings they liked to buy. One of these friends was Constant Gabriël, an artist they had met during their years in Brussels. His painting In Groenendaal was one of their first purchases.
Studio of Hendrik Willem Mesdag, around 1915
Paul Joseph Constantin Gabriël, In Groenendaal (near Brussels), 1866
Early purchase
Hendrik Willem’s cousin, Lourens Alma Tadema, was also an artist. He had travelled to Italy and become very successful with his scenes from Roman antiquity. The Mesdags commissioned Alma Tadema to paint Boating, one of their first purchases. Later they went on to buy more paintings by Lourens and his wife, Laura Epps.
Lourens Alma Tadema, Boating (Opus no. LVI), 1868
onbekend/unknown, Dish with scenes of a porcelain factory, 1875
More and more
The Mesdag house was filled to the rafters with art. Building their own museum gave them more space and allowed them to buy even more paintings and drawings. They also bought bronzes, ceramics and porcelain, such as this Japanese dish, of which only three known examples remain.
‘I have informed my wife of your proposal to pay f 2,000 for the 4 drawings by J. Bosboom and 2 by J. Weissenbruch. She has advised me to accept your proposal and I shall therefore do so.'
Letter from Mesdag to art dealers Maison Artz, The Hague, 1896
The collectors
The Mesdags primarily bought art that they themselves found beautiful, such as work by the Barbizon painters. They also bought the work of artist friends from The Hague School. Both schools of artists painted in nature using broad brush strokes.
Sketches and unfinished work
Artists are often interested in how other artists work. Because the Mesdags were artists, they mainly collected work such as sketches and studies that revealed the artistic process. One of these works is this unfinished painting by Rousseau. It makes you feel as though you are looking over the artist’s shoulder during the creative process.
Camille Corot, Chalk Cliffs near Yport, 1872
Théodore Rousseau, Massacre of the Innocents, 1847
Women artists
It was quite unusual for a woman to work as an artist at the end of the 19th century, all the more so if she were married. But Sientje dedicated her life to art. She also gave painting lessons to other women, including her nieces Barbara and Alida van Houten, and often bought art from other women artists, such as Thérèse Schwartze.
Thérèse Schwartze, Girl with Guitar (Theresia Ansingh), 1904
The Mesdag Collection
Inheritances and connections
Hendrik Willem Mesdag was initially a man of commerce. He did not become an artist until he was thirty-five, when an inheritance enabled him to paint full-time. After yet another large inheritance in 1881, the Mesdags were able to purchase art on a grand scale. The income from their own paintings and real estate projects also facilitated this.
Queen Wilhelmina and the French president Armand Fallières after a visit to Museum Mesdag, 5 July 1911 (photo: The Hague City Archives)
Contacts
The Groningen Mesdags became prominent citizens of The Hague. Hendrik Willem was a member of the prestigious De Witte Society and had close connections with the royal family, while Sientje was president of the women's association Onze Club (Our Club). Many of the Mesdags’ contacts in The Hague also purchased their art.
Hendrik Willem Mesdag liked to receive journalists, sometimes in his role as president of Pulchri Studio, but often as painter and collector. In 1898, many international journalists visited the Netherlands for the coronation of Queen Wilhelmina, and Mesdag invited them to Museum Mesdag for an ‘afternoon with tea and a glass of champagne’. By doing so, he made sure that everyone knew about the museum.
‘And the Queen of the Netherlands, who visited me yesterday, told me that she had seen one of my paintings at your exhibition’.
Letter from Hendrik Willem Mesdag to art dealer Thomas Wallis, 1873
Always the best price
Hendrik Willem had contact with art dealers, both in the Netherlands and abroad. He bought a great deal from them, but he also allowed them to sell his paintings and those of Sientje. This put the Mesdags in a very strong position to negotiate a good price. Sometimes they paid with their own paintings.
Public auction
It was sometimes possible to find a choice work at an estate auction, often for a much lower price than a dealer would charge. The Mesdags bought no fewer than thirteen paintings at the public sale of the property of an art dealer in London. One of these paintings was Hagar and Ishmael by the French artist Jean-François Millet.
Lourens Alma Tadema, Menu with portrait drawn on the cover, on the occasion of Mesdag's 70th birthday, 1901
Mesdag in conversation with Amsterdam art dealer Abraham Preyer
Jean-François Millet, Hagar and Ishmael, 1849
Antonio Mancini, The Birthday, 1885
Antonio Mancini
For many years, the Mesdags maintained contact with the Italian artist Antonio Mancini. They exchanged letters, but never met. The Mesdags offered Mancini financial support in exchange for paintings. They kept some themselves and sold the rest.
Emile Adélard Breton, The Crows, 1870
Exchange
Hendrik Willem often tried to exchange his paintings or those of Sientje with other artists. Not all of these attempts were successful. In 1872, Mesdag wanted to acquire The Crows by Emile Breton. He proposed a swap, but Breton refused. Shortly after this, Mesdag decided to just buy this wintry landscape.
A Great Deed
In 1903, the Mesdags donated their museum to the State of the Netherlands. One newspaper headline described this as ‘A Great Deed’. This donation kept the art collection in the museum together. Their personal art collection in their home, however, remained private property and was auctioned off after the deaths of Hendrik Willem and Sientje.
Ministers and a party
When the Mesdags handed their museum over to the State, all the government ministers arrived in carriages at Laan van Meerdervoort. The prime minister also came to speak to the Mesdags personally. To celebrate the donation, a grand party with a Venetian theme was organised by Pulchri Studio, the Hague society of artists.
Party in Pulchri Studio, January 1903
The Mesdag Collection
The Mesdag Collection
The Mesdags’ museum has been administered by the Van Gogh Museum Foundation in Amsterdam since 1990. Nowadays it’s known as The Mesdag Collection.
