It’s snowing here these days and the Netherlands are entirely covered with snow. Someone who was especially interested in this kind of landscape was Barend Cornelis Koekkoek (1803-1862), member of a family that produced several other capable artists.
Koekkoek was a typical romantic artist, but not in the dramatic meaning that we associate with better-known colleagues as Eugène Delacroix or Caspar David Friedrich. One of Koekkoek’s typical romantic traits, though, was his unconditional reverence for Nature. One of his known quotes is: “Nature is the perfect painting.” Typically, in Koekkoek’s landscapes, the human figures are always subordinate to their surroundings.
Of course, I know some of you might criticize this kind of art as ‘kitsch’ or ‘sentimental’, but what amazes me about Koekkoek’s work again and again is the accuracy and fabulous technique he applies to create his (almost too) perfect depiction of the natural world. His eye and care for details are all the more touching when you take a close look at it. In the new setup of the Rijksmuseum, it will surely be part of the permanent collection again.
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