Siebe Johannes ten Cate (1858-1908) - Vijver met eenden

Beautiful work by the renowned Dutch artist Siebe Johannes ten Cate (1858-1908).
Pastel.
Very good condition.
Framed behind glass.
signed
Dimensions
With frame 43.5 x 36 cm
All kinds of old info on the back side.
without frame 36.5 x 29 cm
The first three photos were taken with artificial lighting, while the other photos were taken in natural outdoor light.

Siebe Johannes ten Cate (Sneek, February 27, 1858 – Paris, December 19, 1908) was a Dutch (Frisian) artist. He lived and worked in France from the age of 22 and painted in the style of impressionism.

Ten Cate studied at the Rijksacademie van Beeldende Kunsten, and later also spent a short time in Antwerp and Brussels. At the age of 22, he settled in Paris, where he opened an atelier. In Paris, he was strongly influenced by impressionism, which was still thriving there in the 1880s. He became acquainted with Vincent van Gogh and befriended Kees van Dongen, with whom he shared a residence on Montmartre for a short time. Vincent van Gogh described Ten Cate in one of his letters as a 'very neat man dressed entirely in black cloth,' quite the opposite of the prototype of a shabby artist.

Although he continued to visit the Netherlands regularly, Ten Cate would not return there. In France, he was well regarded as an impressionist and regularly exhibited, including at the Salon d'Automne. In the Netherlands, where impressionism was still seen by many as controversial, his work was less appreciated and he remained relatively unknown.

Ten Cate frequently went on study trips, including to England, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, North Africa, and North America. He mainly painted landscapes, cityscapes, and harbor scenes. His work exudes a melancholic, lonely atmosphere with unrecognizable figures, often alone, in wintery or rainy scenes. In cityscapes, gray tones often dominate, with only a few bright color touches highlighting passersby. Most works depict scenes in France, especially Paris and the port of Le Havre, but the harbors of Dordrecht and Rotterdam were also popular subjects. His many travels are remembered through works featuring Algiers, Luzern, and London. He also created etchings and lithographs.

Ten Cate died in 1908 in Paris from congestion at the age of fifty. For a long time, he remained forgotten in his own country. However, today his work is highly sought after by collectors and fetches high prices at auctions. His work is part of the collections of major museums, such as the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, the Frans Halsmuseum in Haarlem, and the Musée Carnavalet and the Louvre in Paris. In 2012, a comprehensive exhibition was held at the Fries Scheepvaart Museum.
Source: Wikipedia