Broek in Waterland

Gallery label:
Broek in Waterland is a beautiful village near Amsterdam that Toorop, the most influential of Seurat's Dutch followers, visited in 1889. In this twilight scene Toorop strayed from a strict application of color theory, but he did apply regular dotted brushwork. Toorop also endowed this vivid landscape with a strong geometric structure. The canals, echoed by the pollard willows, form receding diagonals that intersect with the ribbons of color in the evening sky. Even the figures contribute to this taut network. Gliding through the water at day's end, they may reflect Toorop's sympathy for laborers, a sentiment shared by many Neo-Impressionists.

Indianapolis Museum of Art
Gift in memory of Robert S. Ashby by his family and friends