Anton Mauve

It was in this city that, at the age of 16, he started learning to paint – first under Pieter Frederik van Os, who specialised in paintings of cattle, and later with Wouter Verschuur, who painted horses. Like his mentors, Mauve was fascinated by landscapes and the animals found in them. He depicted horses, cattle and, most notably, sheep in silver-grey landscapes. Painting for Mauve was all about evoking a mood with loose brushwork. His paintings were much admired both in his homeland and abroad – Americans in particular were great fans of his paintings of flocks of sheep. With his Dutch subject matter and use of restrained use of colour, Mauve is a prominent Hague School artist.