Willem Roelofs (1822-1897)The painter Willem Roelofs, born in The Hague, is considered to be a forerunner of the Hague School, a group of landscape painters who concentrated on the atmosphere and play of light in nature. During the years he lived in Brussels (1847-1887), Roelofs formed a link between the French Barbizon School and the progressive Dutch landscape painters in The Hague. He mainly painted Dutch landscapes with ponds and cows. Hendrik Van de Sande Bakhuyzen taught Roelofs the elements of painting and he later went on to study at the Hague Academy. His early work belonged to the dominant style in painting that time, Romanticism. Dramatic landscapes such as 'Approaching Storm' display the grandeur and power of nature. |
