In the stables

WOUTERUS VERSCHUUR

Amsterdam 1812 - 1874 Vorden

Ref: BX 114

In the stables

Signed lower left: W. Vershuur

Oil on panel: 14 ¼ x 19 ½ in / 36.2 x 49.5 cm

Frame size: 20 ¼ x 25 ¾ in / 51.4 x 65.4 cm

Provenance:

Private collection, UK, then by descent;

Private collection, Australia

Wouterus Verschuur was inspired by the force and elegance of equestrian anatomy. He celebrated the beauty of working horses in farmyards, stable interiors and rustic subjects.  Verschuur was greatly influenced by the seventeenth century Old Master Philips Wouwerman, whose subjects and style he emulated. In this stable interior, Verschuur successfully captures the rustic, aged atmosphere of the large and draughty stable, as well as the powerful, muscular physique of the working horses.

Wouterus Verschuur specialised in painting equestrian scenes, farmyard and stable interiors and rustic subjects. He was greatly influenced by the seventeenth-century Dutch master Philips Wouwermans, whose subjects and style he emulated. 

Born in Amsterdam in 1812, Verschuur studied under Pieter Geradus van Os (1776-1839), a cattle painter working in the grand tradition of the Old Master Paulus Potter, and Cornelis Steffelaar (1797-1861). He later collaborated with Pieter Christ, Cornelis Jan Bolt and Cornelis Springer. He worked at The Hague and Doorn in 1842, in Amsterdam between 1846 and 1857, and Haarlem between 1858 and 1868; he also spent some time in Rotterdam and Brussels.

Verschuur was awarded the Felix Meritis prize in 1831 and 1832. He became a member of the Royal Academy of Amsterdam in 1833 and a member of the ‘Arti et Amicitiae’ group in 1839.

Many of Verschuur’s works were engraved and his pupils included not only his son Wouter Verschuur Junior, but also the great Hague School painter Anton Mauve. He died at Vorden in 1874.

The work of Verschuur is represented in several museums including the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, the Rijksmuseum Twenthe, Enschede and Amsterdam Museum.