View of The Hague

View of The Hague (1875) by Jacob Maris, now in the collection of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, represents the artist's engagement with landscape as a vehicle for exploring the relationship between direct observation and pictorial structure, light, and atmosphere. Jacob Maris was the eldest and perhaps the most formally ambitious of the three Maris brothers who were central figures of the Hague School. While his brothers Willem and Matthijs each developed distinct specialties, Jacob focused on the traditional Dutch subjects of city canals, windmills, and coastal scenes, interpreting them with a dramatic tonal power that drew on both Rembrandt and the Barbizon masters.

Jacob Maris built his cityscapes and landscapes with assured, varied brushwork that captures the movement of Dutch skies and water with great economy. His palette is characteristically dark and tonal — deep grays, warm blacks.