Dutch school (XX) Van Berk - Barcos de Kortenhoef

"Kortenhoef Boats" Bernard van Beek, The Hague School, circa 1910 – Netherlands

Technique on support: oil on canvas.
Title of the work: “Kortenhoef Boats”
Author: Bernard van Beek
Period: 1910s
Country of origin: Netherlands
Good condition for its age and use.
Total dimensions: 50.5 x 58.5 x 5 cm.
Dimensions without a frame: 37 x 45 cm.

Delicate oil on canvas depicting a calm seascape, probably in the locality of Kortenhoef, as valued by the artist. The composition leans toward symmetry; the black boat in the foreground is shown in profile and draws the viewer’s attention toward the center of the composition. Behind it lie the rest of the vessels, arranged toward the horizon. The gray atmosphere envelops it all, and reveals the strong influence of the Hague School on the artist.

Bernardus Antonie van Beek (Amsterdam, 1875 – Kortenhoef, 1941)

Bernardus Antonie (‘Bernard’) van Beek was a Dutch painter, known for his atmospheric landscapes and associated with the Hague School. His work is characterized by a subtle use of color and a particular attention to the mood of the landscape.

He began his career as a decorative painter with his father, later training at the School of Applied Arts. Although he did not receive any formal academic training in painting, he became a skilled painter. In the beginning, Van Beek lived and worked in Amsterdam, but from 1901 he began to visit Kortenhoef regularly, a water-rich town, where he found a great source of inspiration. In 1911 he settled permanently in this town, where he befriended Constant Gabriël.

In general, Van Beek's landscapes show a clear influence of the Hague School, with an emphasis on tonality and atmosphere. His palette is predominantly subdued, with subtle color nuances that capture the melancholy and tranquility of the Dutch landscape. In addition to the characteristic lakes and water lilies of Kortenhoef, he also painted districts of ancient cities and, especially in the 1920s, scenes of luminous and bright villages.

Bernard van Beek died on March 6, 1941 in Kortenhoef, at the age of 66. His work is included in the collections of several museums, including the Goois Museum in Hilversum. His paintings offer a timeless window into the Dutch landscape and rural life of the early 20th century, and remain appreciated for their serene beauty and their technical craftsmanship.

The Hague School (Haagse School)

For its part, the Hague School or Haagse School (1860-1890) was an influential group of Dutch painters, linked to Pulchri Studio — a Dutch art institution and studio based in The Hague — that renewed the Dutch landscape with a realistic approach, a loose brushwork, and a somber palette centered on light and a grayish atmosphere. Influenced in turn by the Barbizon School, they captured everyday life, especially of fishermen and peasants, from the lucid and ancestral to the more miserable or sentimental aspects and themes.

United by a radical and shared resolve to break with the Romanticism that dominated Dutch painting in the first half of the 19th century, they laid the groundwork for Dutch Impressionism.

Outdoor or plein-air painting, mainly landscapes with windmills, canals, beaches, fishing scenes… In addition to the daily life of peasants, the works are generally characterized by gray and brown tones, an emphasis on atmosphere, overcast skies, and melancholic realism… sometimes called the “government of gray.” They are often considered the last great phase of the Dutch painting tradition, reinterpreting 17th-century realism with a modern, atmospheric sensibility.

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