Batavia

Johan Barthold Jongkind (1819-91) was a Dutch painter and printmaker who spent most of his later working life in France. He painted marine landscapes in a free manner and is regarded as a forerunner of Impressionism. His paintings are characterised by vigorous brushwork and strong contrasts.

Batavia is a characteristically gutsy Jongkind etching which depicts a typically Dutch winter scene. Though he had been living in Paris for several years when it was commissioned, we can sense a total familiarity with the subject matter, with its windmills and ice skaters. It is the 25th etching in the book Sonnets et eaux-fortes (Sonnets and Etchings) edited by Philippe Burty - an admirer of Jongkind and Impressionist art - which was published in Paris in 1869.

See:  Wikipedia, 'Johan Jongkind', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johan_Jongkind

Dr Mark Stocker   Curator, Historical International Art    May 2018