Marinus Bies (1894-1975) - Brug en bomen aan het water

This atmospheric and characterful painting shows a tranquil forest landscape in which a towering tree on the bank of a quiet body of water stands at the center. The artist has created a particularly intimate and mysterious mood with a powerful, loose brushwork and a rich palette of deep greens, browns, and ochre tones. The irregular trunk and the spreading branches form the focal point of the composition, while the light subtly filters through the foliage. Especially the lively, paste-like brushstrokes in the light areas contrast beautifully with the dark, shadowy surroundings and give the painting a striking sense of depth. The small glints of light on the water and the carefully applied color accents in the vegetation reinforce the natural appearance of the scene. The work breathes the calm and seclusion of an unspoiled patch of nature and testifies to a keen sense of light, atmosphere, and the beauty of the landscape.

Executed in oil on panel
Dimensions of the work approximately 30 × 25 cm; with frame approximately 37 × 31 cm.
Provenance: private collection, F. de V., Eindhoven.

Artist biography
Marinus Bies (Aarle-Rixtel, 1894–1975), full name Martinus Johannes Bies, was a Dutch painter and draftsman whose oeuvre is closely linked to the Brabant landscape, in particular the Peel. He studied with Arnold Marc Gorter and Jan Kruysen and developed a powerful, freely painted visual language in which landscape, color, and atmosphere take center stage. From 1933 he worked as a professional artist. In 1938 and 1939 Bies participated in group exhibitions; during this period the Van Abbemuseum acquired a Peel landscape by him. His work was subsequently exhibited at the Rijksmuseum. On the occasion of his centenary birth year, Museum Kempenland Eindhoven organized an exhibition around his oeuvre in 1994. In 2025, his fiftieth death anniversary in the Peel region was commemorated with a series of exhibitions in which his landscape art was central.