Artwork
De hengelaars
De hengelaars is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Nikolaas Verkolje. It dates from 1738 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting De hengelaars depicts a scene of children playing with a hengel, a traditional Dutch fishing device, symbolizing innocence and the simple pleasures of rural life. Nikolaas Verkolje created the work in 1738 using oil paint on panel, and it is housed in the Rijksmuseum collection, where it remains on public view.
Technique & Style
The handling is consistent with mid-18th-century Dutch genre practice, emphasizing smooth, fine brushwork to render figures and textures with clarity.
Technique and materials are oil paint applied to a wooden panel support. The handling is consistent with mid-18th-century Dutch genre practice, emphasizing smooth, fine brushwork to render figures and textures with clarity. Stylistically, the composition aligns with the cabinet-sized cabinet paintings of the period, structured around a quiet domestic scene in which figures are arranged in shallow space with careful attention to light and detail.
The painting’s condition is not specified in the cited sources, though the panel support and oil medium are documented.
History & Provenance
The painting titled De hengelaars was created by Nikolaas Verkolje in 1738. Executed in oil paint on a panel, the work measures 59 cm in height and 47 cm in width. While the specific commission details and the full chain of ownership prior to its current location are not detailed in the available records, the artwork is currently held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. The piece is classified as a genre scene depicting fishermen or anglers.
De hengelaars by Nikolaas Verkolje is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, where it is located. The work is catalogued as part of that museum's holdings.
No specific exhibition history is documented in the available sources for this painting.
Context
Nikolaas Verkolje painted De hengelaars in 1738, an oil-on-panel genre scene now held by the Rijksmuseum. The work exemplifies 18th-century Dutch domestic genre painting, reflecting contemporary interests in everyday domestic activities. Scholarship situates it within Verkolje's broader oeuvre of interior and tavern scenes, though it is less frequently discussed than his more famous tavern interiors.
Its presence in the Rijksmuseum collection underscores its recognized significance within Dutch Golden Age painting, even as it remains overshadowed by the museum's more prominent holdings.
Overview
Nikolaas Verkolje’s 1738 oil painting titled De hengelaars depicts a tranquil river scene populated by everyday figures. The work is part of the Rijksmuseum’s collection and exemplifies the Dutch genre tradition of portraying ordinary life with careful observation.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Nicolaas Verkolje or Vercolje (11 April 1673 – 21 January 1746) was a Dutch painter and mezzotinter. He specialized in history pieces and portraits in a classicistic style.
The Rape of Europa
Faun and Nymph
Apotheosis of the Dutch East India Company (Allegory of the Amsterdam Chamber of Commerce of the VOC)
Portrait of David van Mollen and Son-in-Law Jacob Sydervelt with his Family
Dido and Aeneas
Denial of Saint Peter (Matthew 26:69-75; Mark 14:66-72; Luke 21:54-63; John 17:15-25).
Two Vestal Virgins- De vogelaars
The Watering Party (L'eau)
Shallow Water near a Castle
The Approach
Un paseo a la orilla del Estanque del Retiro
Mishap at the Ford
Conversation Piece (Portrait of Sir Andrew Fountaine with Other Men and Women)
The See-Saw
The Vineyard
The Swing
Misled: The Ambassador of the Rascals exposes himself from the window of 't Bokki Tavern in the Haarlemmerhout
View of a Harbor in Schiedam