Dutch marine painter, born at Groningen on the 23rd of February 1831. He adopted a business career, entering the family banking firm of Mesdag, but about 1866 he came under the influence of Josef Israëls, with the result that he took up the study of art. His sea pieces became famous, and earned him the gold medal of the Paris Salon, among them being “Effet du soir à Scheveningen” (1872); “Après l’Orage” (1895); “Rentrée des bateaux de pêche” (1900) and “Une soirée sur la plage de Scheveningen” (1911). He also made a fine collection of pictures and objets d’art, which he presented to the nation, and they are housed in the Mesdag museum at The Hague. He died at The Hague on the 7th of July 1915.
