Bomen 1895

Willem Cornelis Rip created this study of trees in pencil. The loose style suggests it was made in preparation for a larger, more detailed painting. Rip was part of a group of artists working at the end of the 19th century who broke with the traditional academy. They felt it placed too much emphasis on the past, and not enough on the present. One way in which these artists asserted their independence was by sketching and painting out of doors. Rather than working in a studio from memory, they wanted to engage directly with the landscape. Although Dutch painting had a long tradition of landscape art, these new painters were part of a wider European movement. The break with academic tradition was an attempt to find new ways to picture the changing face of Europe, as it underwent rapid industrialisation and urbanisation. Historians look at studies such as this to understand how artists engaged with these social changes. We also consider how new artistic institutions such as independent societies helped them to find new ways to show their work to the public.