Boating

Boating (1868) depicts figures engaged in the leisure activity of rowing or sailing—a subject that could be set in either ancient or contemporary contexts and demonstrates Alma-Tadema's flexibility as a genre painter. The private collection of Hendrik Willem Mesdag—the Dutch marine painter himself—holds this canvas, suggesting Mesdag acquired it directly from Alma-Tadema or through his social network as a fellow Dutch artist working in The Hague. At this date Alma-Tadema had moved from his native Netherlands to Brussels and was preparing for his decisive move to London following his remarriage. Water subjects allowed him to introduce reflective light effects that contrasted with his more characteristic marble and stone environments, expanding his atmospheric range.

Oil on canvas with the challenge of rendering water and atmospheric light distinctive to boating subjects. Alma-Tadema's technical precision extended to water reflections and the particular quality of light on open water, though his primary excellence was in architectural interiors rather than seascapes or landscapes.