Willem van Hasselt

WILLEM VAN HASSELT (Holland, 1882-1963)
"Garden scene".
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 46 x 55 cm; 65 x 74 x 6 cm (frame).

In "Garden Scene" by Willem van Hasselt unfolds an intimate atmosphere, impregnated with greenery. The work presents a female figure seated alone at a garden table, concentrating on a task that absorbs her attention. The natural stillness is captured with a plastic sensibility characteristic of the author's post-impressionist style. The moment of calm, engrossed in this spot protected from the sun, humid and leafy, has been skilfully captured. Behind the figure, the walls of the house are covered with ivy and vines that accentuate the shady character of the place. The vegetation is thick, almost enveloping, with white flowers punctuating the shades of green. A wooden fence marks the entrance to a dark room, perhaps an old stable. Van Hasselt's technique is recognizable in the short, synthetic brushstroke, which does not seek a literal mimesis but the sensorial evocation of the instant. This can also be seen in the ground, barely suggested with pointillist brushstrokes representing earth and pebbles.

The Dutch painter Willem van Hasselt studied at the Royal Academy in Rotterdam. He later traveled to London and Paris, where he made extensive studies of the great masters in museums. In 1933 he became a naturalized French citizen after marrying the illustrator and painter Louise le Vavasseur, daughter of a wealthy wine merchant, in Bordeaux. Van Hasselt then found his inspiration in the Arcachon basin and on the banks of the Seine. He worked mainly in the field of post-impressionism. He exhibited with Jacques Salomon, nephew of Édouard Vuillard, which allowed him to enter Vuillard's circle and to frequent Maurice Denis, who had a considerable influence on his painting. In 1945, Van Hasselt was elected member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts. From 1951 he was a member of the committee of the Institut Néerlandais and president of the Fra Angelico and France-Hollande associations.