Anton Mauve

Antonij (Anton) Mauve (1838-1888) was born in Zaandam. At 16, he went to Haarlem where he was apprenticed to Pieter Frederik van Os, a specialist in painting cattle, followed by Wouter Verschuur who painted horses. Mauve and Paul Gabriel often went into the country to paint from nature. At twenty he started visiting Oosterbeek, a village that attracted many artists. In 1871, he took a studio in The Hague.

For a while, he taught Vincent van Gogh, to whom he was related by marriage. In 1882, Mauve began visiting Laren for the summer, eventually moving there in 1885. By that time his work was widely known and sought-after by collectors in Holland and abroad.
His landscapes with sheep were especially popular in America; interestingly, a distinction was made between 'sheep coming' and the slightly less expensive 'sheep going'. Mauve’s evocative landscapes place him firmly in the Hague School.