A Girl with Flowers on the Grass

Jacob Maris made this watercolor and black-chalk drawing in 1878. He was a leading member of the Hague School, a Dutch group that painted everyday life and the local landscape. Maris trained in The Hague and Antwerp, then worked in Paris before returning to the Netherlands in 1871. His brothers Matthijs and Willem were also successful artists. In this work, Maris used watercolor instead of the oil paint found in many of his better-known landscapes. Its place in the Rijksmuseum shows that his drawings were also an important part of his career.