Anton Mauve - Schaapskop - SA 351 - Amsterdam Museum

Anton Mauve (1838—1888) was a Dutch realist painter who was a leading member of the Hague School. He signed his paintings "A. Mauve" or with a monogram "A.M.". A master colorist, he was a very important early influence on his cousin-in-law Vincent van Gogh. Most of Mauve's works depict people and animals in outdoor settings. In his Morning Ride in the Rijksmuseum, for example, fashionable riders on the seashore are seen riding away from the viewer. An unconventional detail, horse droppings in the foreground, testifies to his commitment to realism. His best-known paintings depict peasants working in the fields. His paintings of flocks of sheep were particularly popular.