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Dijsselhof trained at the Art Academy in Hague before moving to Amsterdam, which proved to be the watershed moment of his career for his exposure there to the Amsterdam zoo and its new aquarium. He supposedly visited every afternoon, an experience that profoundly shaped his art. Dozens of sketches and paintings of underwater creatures record his abiding interest in sea life.
Catfish and Goldfish in an Aquarium
Gerrit Willem Dijsselhof (Dutch, 1866–1924)
19th-20th century
Medium/Technique
Transparent and opaque watercolor over graphite
Dimensions
Sheet: 50.4 × 65.7 cm (19 13/16 × 25 7/8 in.)
Credit Line
The Maida and George Abrams Collection—Gift in honor of Clifford S. Ackley, William W. Robinson, and in memory of Justice Ruth I. Abrams
Accession Number2021.294
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope, Prints and Drawings
ClassificationsDrawings / Watercolors
Dijsselhof trained at the Art Academy in Hague before moving to Amsterdam, which proved to be the watershed moment of his career for his exposure there to the Amsterdam zoo and its new aquarium. He supposedly visited every afternoon, an experience that profoundly shaped his art. Dozens of sketches and paintings of underwater creatures record his abiding interest in sea life.
Signed
monogrammed, lower right in brown ink: WGD (ligature)
InscriptionsInscribed, inside mat, lower right in graphite: G. W. Dysselhof./ Meervallen & goudwinden./ ag. 50 x 64. ges. 2.0/ 3498/ doos 76
ProvenanceJ. A. van Dongen (b. 1888 - d. 1972), Amsterdam. 1990, sold by Charles Roelofsz. (dealer), Amsterdam to George S. and Maida Abrams, Newton, MA; 2021, gift of George S. Abrams to the MFA. (Accession Date: April 14, 2021)