Winterlandschap van Willem Witsen

This painting shows a tranquil winter landscape in the Ede area; the place where Willem Witsen (Amsterdam, 1860 - Amsterdam, 1923) and his wife led a somewhat secluded life in the nineties of the nineteenth century. With his depiction of the bare trees, the snow-covered fields and farms, he shows the moody stillness and serenity that can be seen in many of his works. After the divorce from wife in 1902, Witsen moved to Amsterdam. Witsen first became acquainted with the outdoors on his parents' estate Ewijkshoeve. He invited like-minded artists such as Willem Bastiaan Tholen, Jan Toorop and Anton Mauve. For example, Witsen, who initially painted figure studies and portraits, was moved by his good friend Mauve to focus on the depiction of landscapes and farm labor. This work can be seen until September 23, 2018 in Gelderland Grensland, an exhibition in CODA Museum Apeldoorn that brings together landscape painting from the seventeenth to the twentieth century. An excellent opportunity to travel through the province of Gelderland on the basis of masterpieces from four centuries of art history! www.coda-apeldoorn.nl/gg Image: Willem Witsen, Winter landscape, c. 1885-1922, oil on canvas, loan from the Rijksmuseum, bequest from Mr A. van Wezel, Amsterdam