Frederik Marinus Kruseman (Dutch, 1816-1882)
Lot 247

Frederik Marinus Kruseman (Dutch, 1816-1882)

Villagers on a snow-covered path

Closed14 October 2008

Price Realised

EUR 34,600

More Information

How to sell

Frederik Marinus Kruseman (Dutch, 1816-1882)
Villagers on a snow-covered path
signed 'FM Kruseman fc' (lower right)
oil on canvas
42 x 56 cm.

Anonymous sale, Christie's, Amsterdam, 26 January 1983, lot 55.
Anonymous sale, Christie's, Amsterdam, 31 October 1989, lot 348.

Specialist note

Frederik Marinus Kruseman was born on 15 July 1816 into a family of artists. His cousins Cornelis Kruseman (1797-1857) and Jan Adam Kruseman (1804-1862) were widely acclaimed for their historical paintings and portraits. For Frederik Marinus Kruseman however, not the human figure was the main motif in his oeuvre, but landscapes became the focus of his attention.

He was first trained by Jan Reekers (1790-1858), a still life painter. His parents had entrusted him with this task because Reekers had a guiding hand in the tutelage of Jan Adam, who had been appointed Director of the Royal Acadamy of Fine Arts in Amsterdam. Later he became the apprentice of Nicolaas Johannes Roosenboom (1805-1880). It was Roosenboom who encouraged the young artist to paint landscapes and in particular winter landscapes enlivened with staffage.

The present lot is an good example of his very fine winter landscapes. Light dots of white oil paint evoke frost on the vegetation and the lone white cloud on the right suggests that the sun is trying to break through.