anton mauve sheep on the moor 1880
Anton Mauve was one of the most important painters of the Hague School. He is generally considered as the champion of Dutch sheep painters. He lived in The Hague where he teached his cousin , the starting painter Vincent van Goghan, the principles of painting. As a successful painter he left the city and went to the countryside. He bought a house in Laren, near the heatherfields. He was a well known painter outside the Netherlands. His landscapes with sheep were very much in demand,especially in the United States. Flock of sheep became his trade mark in the U.S. A distinction was made between coming or going sheep. Coming sheep walk into the direction of the viewer. Going sheep walk from the viewer. His coming sheep were more popular but also more expensive. His production of landscapes with sheep was great, sometimes at the cost of the quality. He worked under great pressure from his agent. A considerable part of his paintings are in American collections.Various Dutch painters were inspired by his success. Landscapes with sheep became a genre in late 19th century Dutch painting. Some of his followers are Francois Pieter ter Meulen, Herman van der Weele, Willem steelink jr. They were called the Mauvists.