Castle in a Winter Landscape
By Louwrens Hanedoes (1822-1905)
Winters Landschap in de Omgeving van een Kasteel (Dutch Transl.)
Bought in 22nd of September 2022.
Introduction
I love buying paintings on the online auction. Sometimes, to my big surprise, I’ll stumble upon an absolute gorgeous work. Like with this one, I’m so lucky, and feel honored to be the owner. Right after it was delivered, I bought the brown warm wooden frame to contrast the winter landscape where people are working, gathering firewood for inside, and where children are playing. Because these works are unknown, it’s difficult to know where this oil painting exactly came from and what the painter, Louwrens Hanedoes intended to achieve with this piece. So, I’m going to research a bit and if I don’t find anything, I’ll make up my own meaning and value to this picture.
Painting’s Title
Okay this is funny; I sincerely thought this painting was unknown – but it still could be, and probably is – just like the painter Louwrens Hanedoes. I looked up his name and immediately I found a Wikipedia page and extensive descriptions and information about his life. Hanedoes apparently was a very well-known painter in the 19th century. You can imagine the feeling of honor for owning this picture has substantially increased. But I’ll come back to that later and want to focus on the title of this painting. On the auction advertisement it was just titled: “Dorpsgezicht (transl. Townscape)”. Now I found a better one on: kunstexpert.com.
Dutch title:
Winters landschap in de omgeving van een kasteel
English Translation:
Castle in a Winter Landscape
… Yes, I like that.
Painter: Louwrens Hanedoes
Louwrens Hanedoes was born in the Netherlands, in a little village called Woudrichem on the 14th of July 1822. When he was 17, 1839 he studied at the Royal Academy of Art, the Hague until 1840. Then he was taught by the well-known Dutch painters Cornelis Kruseman and Barend Cornelis Koekoek, the latter being a particularly big influence on Hanedoes. Like he should be because Koekoek is an absolute genius. At first his chosen direction and forte was the romantic style, being especially gifted in painting landscapes.
He traveled all around Europe to gain experience, information, and inspiration for his works. He visited France, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Spain etc. In 1850, he was also one of the first Dutch painters to visit the prestigious Barbizon school in France. He became more familiar with the realism style of painting. This was a reaction to the romantic movement that was prevalent at the time. These new works by him were very influential and were seen as a precursor to setting up The Hague School, familiar to Barbizon which has its foundations in realism.
To top it all off, in 1863 Louwrens Hanedoes was knighted in the order of Leopold, the Belgium national honorary order of knighthood. After this, his production of paintings decreased slowly, retiring to his family estate in Woudrichem, the town where he was born. He died there in 1905. Streets were named after him in the Netherlands, and he was seen as a very influential painter, especially in the 1850s according to a lot of Belgium and French critics.
Here is another well-known painting by him:
Romantic Landscape Style
The painting of landscapes started in Europe around the late 18th and begin 19th century. Of course, in older paintings landscapes were used, but they were never the main attraction, always remaining on the background. So, with this new genre, still the main ingredient for the painters was the imagination. Religious symbolism was added, internal fears or hopes and emotions were always vividly present. A big reason was also the Industrial Revolution. Times were changing, and the painters went back internally and used their, as I said, personal thoughts and experiences. This was the development of the romantic style.
“The Sublime” was also key in this video. “Sublime” as in dangerous, powerful, and confronting. This genre can certainly possess these elements. Maybe you paint a land with stormy seas, or a big cross on the hill, great catastrophes, or uncertainties. These settings are always in connection with the painter’s psyche.
Castle in a Winter Landscape
So, let’s go back to the painting in question: Castle in a Winter Landscape by Louwrens Hanedoes.
For me, the painting signifies: coming home after a long, and maybe brutal journey. The castle undoubtedly represents my home, my hometown. So, there is much relief when I set my eyes on this picture. Every time, life is a little bit more beautiful when I look at this. My hardship, my pain is over and for a little moment I feel like I’ve arrived. To what I’m not sure. Just behind the castle there’s a little farmhouse where a little kid plays. The background however, the unending fields of snow can frighten me a little though. That’s where chaos lies, future problems, territory I’d rather avoid. But for now, I’m home.
The technical quality, I presume is outstanding. The leafless trees, the ice on the little lake, the houses, and of course the castle itself shown in great detail. It’s like a beautiful picture is made hundreds of years ago. I love old, classical, and romantic paintings. They always take me back and I get to imagine what nature was like back then. I of course forget the hardship and brutal conditions of history, romanticize, and let my imagination run wild. People in beautiful, thick brown jackets, green scarfs working all day long to get the firewood they need, to build this little home inside their little, and cold houses. We all work to make a little castle for ourselves, and our loved ones.
So yeah, it’s me, this painting is where I live. My haven.
That’s what this painting means to me.
More paintings by Louwrens Hanedoes
I wrote a poem “Home” inspired by this painting.