GOGH, Vincent van
(b. 1853, Groot Zundert, d. 1890, Auvers-sur-Oise)

Beach at Scheveningen

October 1882, The Hague
Watercolour, 340 x 495 mm
Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore

Catalogue numbers: F 1038, JH 228.

The painter Anton Mauve married into van Gogh's family in 1874 and became a cousin of Vincent. When van Gogh went to The Hague in November 1881, Mauve, who normally accepted no students, was willing to teach him the use of oil paint and watercolour. In the beginning van Gogh used watercolour combined with various materials, mostly pencil. In the summer of 1882 he had the chance to really develop the technique on around the picturesque sea resort of Scheveningen. He knew the small fishing village well, as he often visited it between 1869 and 1873 when he was employed by The Hague Gallery of the Goupil firm.

Van Gogh depicted the hamlet and the nearby sand dunes in several watercolours.