Willem Maris (1844-1910)Willem Maris, one of three artist brothers, was born in 1844 in The Hague. His first lessons in drawing were from his brothers Jacob and Matthijs. For a while he followed evening classes at the Hague Academy and later continued his studies with the cattle painter Stortenbeker. In the Mauritshuis in The Hague, Willem copied the work of the seventeenth-century animal painter Paulus Potter. From an early age Willem went outdoors to sketch the countryside. In 1901 he wrote in a letter: 'As far as I can remember, even before I was twelve ... I was out in the pastures drawing cows ... I have nearly always worked outside, summers in the fields and winters in the barns'. Maris painted many Dutch landscapes with animals, especially cows and ducks. |
