The Lowlands

Artist Willem Maris (Dutch, 1844-1910)

Dateabout 1880-1890

Dimensions21 1/2 x 29 1/2 in. (55 x 75 cm)

Mediumoil on canvas

ClassificationPaintings

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1925.43

Not on View

Label TextThe younger brother and student of the better-known artist Jacob Maris (1837–1899), Willem Maris joined his brother as a member of the group of Dutch artists known as the Hague School. The Hague School attached great importance to studies from life as well as a spontaneous reaction to nature. They found inspiration in what they considered the heroic aspects of everyday life, often depicting scenes of farmers and rural laborers or moorlands with grazing flocks of sheep or cows. They were trying to depict nature and the “simple life” that was being swept away by the industrial revolution and rapid urbanization of the late 19th century.Published ReferencesGodwin, Blake-More, Catalogue of European Paintings, Toledo, 1939, p. 138, repr. p. 139.

Toledo Museum of Art, The Toledo Museum of Art, European Paintings, Toledo, 1976, p. 105, pl. 162.