Paul Joseph Constantin Gabriel

Paul J.C. Gabriel (1828-1903)

Paul Gabriel was born in Amsterdam. His father, a sculptor, died when he was five years old. The young Paul helped his mother by painting portraits to earn money to keep the large family. From 1840 onwards, Gabriel followed evening classes at the Amsterdam Academy and he worked for short periods with different teachers, such as the landscape painter B.C. Koekkoek. From 1853 to 1856 he stayed in the village of Oosterbeek, near Arnhem. As with artist friends such as Anton Mauve and Gerard Bilders his work focused on nature. After a short stay in Amsterdam, he lived from 1860 to 1884 in Brussels and after that, until his death, in Scheveningen.