Lot 304 Dα

Around 1908-1910 Theo von Brockhusen's work was defined by a light palette with which he cheerfully presented pictures of selected open-air settings - whether beer gardens or life at the beach. Like other Impressionists he searched for new motifs along the coast of the Netherlands; from 1906 to 1908, he spent his time in Knokke-Heist, which was then still a new seaside resort on the Belgian coast. It had only been a few years since Knokke had developed into an ocean resort when it became possible to hire bathing machines in Heist; with its Art Nouveau villas, Knokke now provided a suitable ambience for its sun-hungry guests. The artist created broad prospects of empty shores along the edge of the sea, but also depictions of mondaine life at the beaches.
From a low vantage point, we look up over a group of playing children, ladies wearing long dresses and cartwheel hats and gentlemen in black suits at the impressive architecture built along the beach's promenade as well as the Jugendstil lighthouse. The scenery has been affectionately recorded in rich detail and reproduces the atmosphere of a cloudless summer day.
From 1919, following Theo von Brockhusen's suicide, Ferdinand Möller managed his artistic estate at the painter's request and saw to it that his Impressionist oeuvre became more widely known by means of numerous exhibitions. According to the label on its reverse side, the painting offered for sale here also came from one of these.