In Groenendaal (near Brussels)

Paul Joseph Constantin Gabriël (1828 - 1903), c. 1866

oil on canvas, 39 cm x 62.5 cm
The Mesdag Collection, The Hague

Gabriël’s rendering of a cottage in the vicinity of Brussels in this small painting is very precise. Almost every brick in the worn plaster of the wall is individually depicted.

Here and there he introduced bright colour accents, such as the woman’s red jacket, the flowers, and the chickens. He used dark blue rather than the usual black or brown to indicate the shadows.

Constant Gabriël was a Dutch artist who lived in Brussels from 1860 to 1884. It was there that he became acquainted with Mesdag. They both took art lessons from Willem Roelofs.