Communication with the purpose of culturally promoting artists included in the Fundación María Cristina Masaveu Peterson Collection, works protected by intellectual property rights. Their total or partial reproduction or processing by any means, or their transmission or cession in any form is forbidden without the authorisation of the holder of the rights to the works

 

Mujer en un paisaje de dunas cerca de un rebaño de ovejas y de un pueblo

TECHNICAL DATA

Author: Carlos de Haes (Bruselas, 1826 – Madrid, 1898)
Title: Mujer en un paisaje de dunas cerca de un rebaño de ovejas y de un pueblo
Year: 1855
Technique: oil on panel
Size: 18,5 x 25 cm

This work dates from Carlos de Haes’s formative years in Belgium. Just like other landscapes from this period, it shows a series of special features such as the location of the road in the foreground, which traces a curve leading to the middle ground, where it is slightly elevated and topped by a tree stand which forms the centre of the composition; the use of dark foregrounds caused by the shadows of the rocks, which, just like the trees, succeed one another to confer a sense of depth, which is further enhanced by a more brightly-lit area in the background; the scattered arrangement of the houses in the background; the colours, which are cooler and lighter than those he used later in Spain; the arrangement of the clouds in the sky, darker overhead and lighter towards the horizon; and the presence of a small human figure integrated into the landscape in the middle ground, which provides a sense of dimension and humanises the landscape. With these devices, Haes joined the trend among his fellow Belgian artists of the time who, like their French counterparts, were starting from a place that was still romantic yet moving towards realism, the style which would end up defining Haes’s oeuvre.

This work was acquired at an auction in Notarishuis, Rotterdam on 29 May 2018 (lot 100).