Patrons
Hendrik Willem and Sientje Mesdag went to Scheveningen almost every day; here they are seen posing on the pier. They built up a large network in nearby The Hague where they lived. Helped by start-up capital from inheritances and skilful business dealings, the couple went on to become patrons and collectors. They were both very active in the Pulchri Studio artists’ society, a kingpin in the art world of The Hague. Mesdag was its chairman from 1887 to 1907.
Photo: Hendrik Willem Mesdag and Sientje Mesdag-van Houten at the Seaside, undated, Museum Panorama Mesdag
Royalty
Mesdag maintained good links with the Royal Family The Queen Regent Emma and Queen Wilhelmina were also involved with Pulchri Studio, where Mesdag was its chairman. Here we can see Mesdag and his friend and colleague Jozef Israëls in July 1891, while the German emperor Wilhelm II and his wife Augusta Victoria were being given a guided tour, accompanied by the German Prince and Princess von Wied. In this caricatural painting the two artists in black, are shown standing pontifically in front of the imperial couple.
Benjamin Prins, Distinguished Visit to Pulchri, undated, oil on canvas (reproduction), VSB Fonds Den Haag en omstreken, on loan to Pulchri Studio, The Hague. Photo: Piet Gispen Photography, The Hague
Family
Barbara van Houten was the Mesdags’ niece. Her father was the politician Samuel van Houten, Sientje Mesdag-Van Houten’s brother. The Van Houtens lived next door to the Mesdags, and so the young Barbara often visited her aunt and uncle. After finishing her art studies in Paris, The Hague and Amsterdam, she was mentored by her Aunt Sientje. She later had her own studio above the Panorama Mesdag.
Hendrik Willem Mesdag en Barbara van Houten, photo, undated, National Archives/ Spaarnestad Collection
