Notes

As a student of the two landscape and animal painters from the Hague, Pieter Gerardus van Os (1776 – 1839) and Cornelis Steffelaar (1797 – 1861), Verschuur is one of the best-known representatives of Dutch romanticism. In his animal and, in particular, horse depictions, which are characteristic of his oeuvre, his artistic skill in capturing the different horse breeds and their characteristic coat colors is clearly expressed.

The talent of the Dutchman was recognized early in his career and his work was met with great interest. As early as 1833 he was accepted as a member of the Amsterdam “Akademie voor Beeldende Kunsten”. His excellent reputation and ability spread beyond national borders, as evidenced by numerous works that can still be found in international museum collections today.

In the same way, Verschuur turned his attention to elements of animal and landscape painting, which seperates his work from his other subjects, mainly specialized in depicting horses in a stable interior. With small accents, such as the resting peasant company, the viewer is presented with a rural idyll that is enveloped in an atmospheric light by the gentle afternoon sun.