''Beach at Scheveningen in Stormy Weather'', also known as ''View of the Sea at Scheveningen'' (Dutch: ''Zeegezicht bij Scheveningen''), is an early oil painting by

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

, painted at Scheveningen near

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

in August 1882. It is held in the

Van Gogh Museum The Van Gogh Museum () is a Dutch art museum dedicated to the works of Vincent van Gogh and his contemporaries in the Museum Square in Amsterdam South, close to the Stedelijk Museum, the Rijksmuseum, and the Concertgebouw. The museum opene ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

Description

Van Gogh made his first paintings in December 1881, under the supervision of

Anton Mauve Anthonij "Anton" Rudolf Mauve (18 September 18385 February 1888) was a Dutch realist painter who was a leading member of the Hague School. He signed his paintings 'A. Mauve' or with a monogrammed 'A.M.'. A master colorist, he was a very signific ...

, the husband of Van Gogh's cousin, Ariëtte (Jet) Sophia Jeannette Carbentus. This work was made in Van Gogh's second attempt at painting in August 1882. The painting shows the beach at Scheveningen, on the North Sea coast a few miles from The Hague, on a stormy day on 21 or 22 August 1882. The painting was made quickly, ''

en plein air ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or ''plein air'' painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting ...

'', on an easel at the beach, with the wind whipping up sand and nearly blowing Van Gogh off his feet. He managed to scrape most of the wind-blown sand off the thick wet painting, but some remains. The painting is an Impressionist take on the grey-tinged seascapes of

Hague School The Hague School is a group of artists who lived and worked in The Hague between 1860 and 1890. Their work was heavily influenced by the realist painters of the French Barbizon school. The painters of the Hague school generally made use of relati ...

paintings such as Hendrik Mesdag's 1881 '' Panorama'' of Scheveningen. The composition is broken into three horizontal zones: a threatening grey sky with dark roiling clouds, the greenish-grey sea with lines of white-capped waves crashing onto the shore, and the beach and sand dunes in browns, oranges, yellows and greens. A number of people are on the beach, some fishwives in their white bonnets, watching as a group of men with horses and a cart are about to pull on a rope attached to a waiting fishing boat to bring it safely ashore. The people are suggested by a few economical brushstrokes, and the breakers by thick lines of paint applied directly from the tube. The work measures . It was catalogued as "F4" in

Jacob Baart de la Faille Jacob Baart de la Faille (1 June 1886, Leeuwarden – 7 August 1959, Heemstede) compiled the first ''catalogue raisonné'' of the work of Vincent van Gogh, published in 1928. The catalogue was revised and republished by an editorial committee in ...

's 1928 ''The Works of Vincent van Gogh'' and as "JH187" in

Jan Hulsker Jan Hulsker (2 October 1907, The Hague – 9 November 2002, Vancouver) was a Dutch art historian especially noted for his work on Vincent van Gogh. He studied Dutch literature in Leiden and was promoted with a thesis on the author Aart van der Lee ...

's 1978 ''The Complete Van Gogh''. The painting was stored at the Van Gogh family house in Breda. Along with many early other works, it was left behind in the attic when the family moved away in 1886, and it came into the possession of a carpenter, Adrianus Schrauwen. It was sold as part of a job lot of worthless "rubbish" to the merchant J.C. Couvreur in 1902, and it came to Kunstzalen Oldenzeel in Rotterdam. It was bought by tobacco importer Gerlach Ribbius Peletier in 1903 for the record price of 2,500

guilders Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' "gold penny". This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Roman Emp ...

, when other works by Van Gogh were selling for less than 1,000 guilders. It was inherited by his daughter Liesbeth Ribbius Peletier, and she donated it to the state of the Netherlands on her death in 1989.

Theft and recovery

''Beach at Scheveningen in Stormy Weather'' had been held by the

in Amsterdam since 1989 but was stolen, along with Van Gogh's later painting of ''

Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen ''Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church at Nuenen'' (Dutch: ''Het uitgaan van de hervormde kerk te Nuenen'') is an early painting by Vincent van Gogh, made in early 1884 and modified in late 1885. It is displayed at the Van Gogh Museum in Ams ...

'', on 7 December 2002. It remained missing for over 13 years, until it was recovered in January 2016 by the Italian

Guardia di Finanza The ''Guardia di Finanza'' (G. di F. or GdF) () (English: literal: ''Guard of Finance'', paraphrased: ''Financial Police'' or ''Financial Guard'') is an Italian law enforcement agency under the authority of the Minister of Economy and Finance. ...

, together with the other stolen work, at

Castellammare di Stabia Castellammare di Stabia (; nap, Castiellammare 'e Stabbia) is a '' comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Naples, Campania region, in southern Italy. It is situated on the Bay of Naples about southeast of Naples, on the route to Sorrento. History ...

near Naples. Its recovery, without its original frame, from under the kitchen floor of a villa associated with Camorra gang boss

Raffaele Imperiale Raffaele Imperiale (born 24 October 1974) is an Italian criminal and a member of the Camorra. He is considered by the authorities as one of the most important drug traffickers affiliated with the Camorra. He was on the list of the most wanted ...

was not announced until September 2016. It was subsequently returned to the Van Gogh Museum and after some restoration went back on display in March 2017.

References

''View of the Sea at Scheveningen''
, Van Gogh Museum

Van Gogh Letters
Avant-Gardes and Partisans Reviewed

Fred Orton Fred Lionel Orton (born 1945, Coventry, Warwickshire England) is an English art historian. His initial training was at Coventry College of Art in painting as a Dip.A,D student. He extended his experience in the History and Development of Art ini ...

Griselda Pollock Griselda Frances Sinclair Pollock''The International Who's Who of Women''; 3rd ed.; ed. Elizabeth Sleeman, Europa Publications, 2002, p. 453 (born 11 March 1949) is an art historian and cultural analyst of international, postcolonial feminist stud ...

, p. 14
''The Passions of Vincent van Gogh''
B. Ione Mutchler, p. 45
Stolen Van Goghs back on display after years in criminal underworld
BBC News, 21 March 2017

External links

* {{ACArt Paintings by Vincent van Gogh 1882 paintings Maritime paintings Stolen works of art Recovered works of art Collections of the Van Gogh Museum

Description

Theft and recovery

See also

References

External links