Study for Panorama of Scheveningen

Mesdag made various preparatory studies for his large panorama of the dunes of Scheveningen. At the beach he would take notes and make drawings in a sketchbook. He described the colours, the light, and the current weather conditions. For instance, he noted: ‘the tonality of the sea is a slate grey.’,

In order to try out the colours and light effects in oil paint, Mesdag painted this study in the spring of 1880. He also had photographs taken from his vantage point on the Seinpost Dune to ensure an accurate rendering of the perspective. He completed the Panorama of Scheveningena little more than a year later, and it was opened to the public in the summer of 1881.