Henri Van Seben – Shepherd with a dog in the dunes, watercolour

by Atelier Liesjes

A shepherd is resting on the slope of a dune. He is wearing a wide-brimmed hat, a brown coat and a light-coloured shirt; his legs are tucked into dark trousers with light-coloured turn-ups and sturdy shoes. In his hands he holds a small object – a knife, a piece of wood or a pipe – and he is looking at it intently, as if he were cutting or repairing something. Beside him stands a rough-coated sheepdog with a dark coat, looking alertly ahead. Behind the shepherd, the dune ridge stretches on, with cows grazing upon it; in the distance, a flat polder landscape can be seen, featuring a small church tower and a few trees.
Van Seben painted this scene as a watercolour with pencil, and this is clearly evident: the colours are transparent and fluid, the contours are defined by fine pencil lines, and the sky is built up from soft, blending washes. The colours are subdued: grey-green, brown, cream, and a rose-grey glow in the clouds above the horizon. There is no harsh light, no dramatic sky – only the even, somewhat misty atmosphere of a Dutch afternoon.
The style is Romantic Realism, closely aligned with the Hague School: a landscape that is neither idealised nor harsh; an animal and a person who blend into their surroundings without embellishment. The theme is the simple outdoor life, the solitude of the shepherd and the tranquillity of the polder countryside. The feeling the work evokes is one of calm, space and a slight melancholy.
Henri van Seben (Brussels 1825 – Ixelles 1913) was a Dutch-Belgian painter and printmaker. He trained at the Hague Academy under Huib van Hove, lived and worked in The Hague and Brussels, and was a member of the Hollandsche Teekenmaatschappij. He painted landscapes of Gelderland, genre scenes, children at play and scenes on the ice.
An atmospheric, hand-painted watercolour depicting Dutch country life, shepherds and dunes.