Fishing boat

In the mid-ninteenth century the Dutch fisheries suffered badly from the embargo on herring fishing and general economic climate; by 1855 herring fishing, which had for centuries been a thriving and important trade, was continued by only 140 boats from Scheveningen, Katwijk and Noordwijk. After the embargo on herring fishing was lifted in 1871 and as the economic situation improved during the following decades, the herring fisheries began to experience a new prosperity; by the end of the century the catch was ten times as large as it had been in 1855. the fleet at Scheveningen was responsible for almost half of this. After 1866, most fishing was done from sailing luggers but Scheveningen, which had no harbour of its own until the beginning of the twentieth century, remained faithful to the older type of bluff-blowing fishing boats, which had a flat keel and could be hauled up on the beach by horses. Maris, Mauve, Mesdag and Weissenbruch immortalized these fishing boats in a series of brilliant paintings. The most classical interpretation of the theme is seen in this painting by Jacob Maris, which can also be regarded as a perfect work from the Hague School’s grey period. The blue of the pennant and a touch of red in the boat constitute the only accents of colour in this symphony in silvery grey.

Source: R. de Leeuw, J. Sillevis, Ch. Dumas (eds.), The Hague School: Dutch masters of the 19th century, The Hague 1983