The exhibition 'Sharing the Spotlight. The Mesdags in their Museum' pays tribute to the artist couple Hendrik Willem Mesdag and Sientje Mesdag-van Houten. The exhibition is on display from 31 March until 9 July 2023 at The Mesdag Collection in The Hague.
In 2023, it is 120 years since Hendrik Willem Mesdag (1831-1915) and Sientje Mesdag-van Houten (1834-1909) gifted their exquisite collection to the Dutch State. As an homage to the couple, all of the works by the Mesdags in the collection are now on display in their own museum.
Hendrik Willem Mesdag and Sientje Mesdag-van Houten amassed their impressive collection throughout their lives. In their museum for contemporary art, which they opened in 1887 on the Laan van Meerdervoort in The Hague, they displayed work by their friends and by artists whom they admired, but also their own work.
‘We know all too well what is good, and what is not. Otherwise my wife and I would never have been able to bring that unique museum together’, said Hendrik Willem. And it is indeed the Mesdags’ preferences and interests that make the collection so personal.
The Mesdag Collection is inextricably linked with Hendrik Willem and Sientje. It is their love of art and personal preferences that, to this day, give the museum its charming character. Several of the Mesdags’ own works – which they exhibited in the museum – offer insight into their lives. Portraits of friends are on display, as well as paintings associated with notable moments in their career.
The exhibition also shows how the Mesdags presented themselves, with their personal drawings and paintings, alongside the works by French and Dutch artists in their collection.
Choosing art
The Mesdags made a conscious decision to lead a life devoted to the arts. At the age of 35, Hendrik Willem stopped working at his father’s company to become an artist. A few years later, following the death of the Mesdags’ only son Klaasje in 1871, Sientje also decided to dedicate her life to art.
‘Without my husband I never would have become a painter, and without me, he would possibly not have been a painter’. Sientje Mesdag-van Houten
Sientje Mesdag-van Houten was well into her thirties when she started painting. The painting Head of a Dog: Nero (1875), picturing their faithful Newfoundland, offers a glimpse into life in the Mesdag home. The light colours are striking in her View in a Forest (1870-1907), in which she captures a sunny moment. Mesdag-van Houten became famous with her still lifes, traditionally a subject for women.
That being said, she was a highly versatile artist, and also painted many landscapes with a personal, melancholic atmosphere, such as In the Veluwe: the Heath of Bennekom (1891). Sientje also occasionally painted portraits, achieving success at home and abroad, where she also exhibited her work.
‘The sea is mine’. Hendrik Willem Mesdag
Hendrik Willem Mesdag was a marine painter, and he headed to the beach nearly every day to study the water and the colours in the sky. In his seascapes, he experimented freely with painting style and colour.
Mesdag’s breakthrough came with Breakers on the North Sea (1870). He won a gold medal with the painting at the 1870 Paris Salon, and a member of the jury purchased the work. The painting was later cut into two pieces, which became separated. The complete painting is now once again on display at The Mesdag Collection, but the cutting line is still visible.
Many people associate Mesdag’s name with the enormous painting Panorama of Scheveningen (1881, Panorama Mesdag, The Hague), which he considered to be his most important work.
Before Mesdag painted the gigantic artwork together with his wife and other artists, he made the preliminary work Study for Panorama of Scheveningen (1880, scale 1:50). Numerous details, such as the goats on the grass, also feature in the showpiece.
Sketchbooks
Not all of the works by the Mesdags are on permanent display at the museum. The works on paper are only rarely exhibited, because they are sensitive to light. The Mesdags’ sketchbooks are being exhibited especially for Sharing the Spotlight. The couple always carried their sketchbooks, so that they could record their favourite subjects while out and about. The sketchbooks also include drawings of their son Klaasje, who died at the age of seven after a short illness.
New discoveries and restoration
Several of the Mesdags’ paintings have been restored for the exhibition. The appearance of Hendrik Willem’s Summer Evening at Scheveningen (c. 1890-1895) changed dramatically during the restoration, mainly due to the old layer of varnish being removed. The subtle colours and brushstrokes that Mesdag used to capture this golden hour have now been fully returned to their former glory.
While treating Mesdag’s Fishing Boats at Sea (c. 1869-1915), the conservator discovered brushstrokes that did not appear to belong to the picture. An X-ray scan revealed that a portrait is hidden underneath the top layers of paint, while an X-ray scan of Mesdag-van Houten’s Cottage in Hattem (1876-1892) also uncovered an underlying portrait.
Sharing the Spotlight. The Mesdags in their Museum is on display from 31 March to 9 July 2023 at The Mesdag Collection in The Hague. To give more visitors the opportunity to see the exhibition, the museum will be open on two additional days every week in April (from Wednesday to Sunday, from 10.00 to 17.00). Please note that the museum is closed on King’s Day.
Activities
The Mesdag Collection will be organising a range of activities during Museum Week, including a lecture by Junior Curator Lisette van den Berg on Saturday 1 April, and guided tours of the exhibition Sharing the Spotlight. The Mesdags in their Museum that visitors can join on the day.
To celebrate the Mesdags’ exceptional benefaction, the museum is organising a day of festive activities on 13 May, including guided tours and a walk-in drawing workshop.