Hendrik Willem Mesdag (1831-1915) Dutch, Watercolor. Self portrait. Titled 'Tete de Peintre' (Head of the Painter). Titled and signed. Provenance: Dr. Roberto Crea, Hillsborough, CA. Overall Size: 13 1/2 x 11 5/8 in. Sight Size: 5 1/2 x 4 3/8 in. Thickness: 2 1/2 in. #1068 . Hendrik Mesdag is known for Hague School painting, seascape, figure, genre and landscape, panorama. Hendrik Mesdag decided to become an artist in 1866, when already 35 years old. Before then he had worked in his father's banking business and had drawn in his leisure time. To further his artistic training he moved to Brussels, where he was taught by the Dutch painter Willem Roelofs. The sea became Mesdag's primary subject. In 1869 he settled close to the coast in The Hague. The beach at Scheveningen was his favourite spot for painting. He achieved international fame when he won a medal in 1870 at the Paris Salon. His most spectacular work, the Mesdag Panorama, was produced in 1881. It can still be seen in The Hague close by Museum Mesdag. This museum, founded by Mesdag himself (next to his house), contains primarily work by artists of the Hague School and the Barbizon School.