Bluff-bowed Fishing Boat on the Beach at Scheveningen

Jacob Maris

c. 1885

oil on canvas

Rijksmuseum

A bluff-bowed fishing boat rests on a wet beach under a cloudy sky. Several figures and two horses are gathered near the boat, and seagulls fly overhead. Maris painted a bluff-bowed fishing boat at sea at least sixteen times. They are studies in light and atmosphere. To avoid the problems caused by constant- ly changing light conditions, he worked in his studio. Maris also preferred to select his colours indoors, because, as he stated, it was sometimes necessary to ‘exaggerate in order to learn about the power of colours’.