Matthijs Maris, 'Men unloading Carts, Montmartre', 1870
About the work
Overview
The Dutch artist Matthijs Maris studied at the Hague Drawing Academy and at the Antwerp Academy. His brothers, Jacob and Willem, were also artists.
In 1869 Matthijs moved to Paris, where Jacob was living. Jacob returned to Holland in 1871, but Matthijs remained another six years, renting a room in Montmartre, an area particularly favoured by artists. This small picture is one of several he painted of the Montmartre Quarry on the northern edge of Paris where the city gave way to countryside. The quarry was also painted in 1886 by Van Gogh, who likewise included the windmills in the background – a feature that perhaps appealed to both Dutchmen.
Matthijs felt great loyalty to France. He joined the National Guard when the Franco-Prussian War broke out in 1870, and in 1871 he fought with the Communards. Recalling the art of Daumier, Matthijs’s identification with the city’s working people is evident here. The earthy colours and textures of the paint match the pit in which the men load their carts.
From 1877 Matthijs lived in London, where he died in 1917.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Men unloading Carts, Montmartre
- Artist
- Matthijs Maris
- Artist dates
- 1839 - 1917
- Date made
- 1870
- Medium and support
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 23.2 × 30.5 cm
- Inscription summary
- Signed; Dated
- Acquisition credit
- Presented by J.C.J. Drucker, 1912
- Inventory number
- NG2874
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Neil MacLaren, revised and expanded by Christopher Brown, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Dutch School: 1600–1900’, London 1991, and supplemented by Isobel Muir; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Bibliography
-
1960Maclaren, Neil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Dutch School, 2 vols, London 1960
-
1991Maclaren, Neil, revised by Christopher Brown, National Gallery Catalogues: The Dutch School, 1600-1900, 2nd edn (revised and expanded), 2 vols, London 1991
-
2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.