Painters from Dordrecht

We all secretly dream of discovering a hidden art treasure in our grandparent’s filthy attic one day, but sometimes it actually happens to somebody. This was the case when Anthonie Pieter Schotel’s (1890 – 1958) niece found a case containing 16 small oil paintings that were made by her uncle, or ’small pearls’, as Schotel himself called them. For over 60 years the work had been stowed away in an attic, remaining untouched, just waiting to be found. E.J. van Wisselingh & Co has the honour of revealing them to the public for the first time, alongside the work of Adrie Mouthaan (born 1940).

During the sales exhibition ‘Painters from Dordrecht’, the work of these two Dordrechts Masters will be presented side by side. Both painters developed a preference for painting river-, sea- and cityscapes whilst growing up in this picturesque harbour city, home to a rich history as a trade port and surrounded by beautiful rivers. Whilst Schotel’s paintings may be classified as more traditional, Mouthaan paints in a slightly more abstract fashion. The two painters pose an interesting contrast within the same genre.

   ^{A.P. Schotel, Harbour and the great church in Dordrecht.}

Anthonie Pieter Schotel


Anthonie Pieter Schotel, a descendant of the renowned maritime painter Johannes Christiaan Schotel, is most famous for his paintings of the Zuiderzee. He often depicted the fishing villages of Dordrecht and Volendam, where fishermen took to the sea on massive wooden Botters. You might have heard of brave marine-painters such as Willem van der Velde (1611 - 1693), who sailed out on small boats to closely observe ships in battle. For Schotel this was not an option, simply because he could not swim. In stead, he took to the harbours or dykes, giving him a broader view of the ships sailing on the water beneath a cloudy sky. Schotel used the so-called snapshot technique, inspired by photography, resulting in cut-offs of ships and rocks in the corners of his paintings. Schotel’s colour palet developed from a grayish tone into more pastel colours, and a more subtle brushstroke came to define his later works. 

^{Adrie Mouthaan, Beach.} 

Adrie Mouthaan


Seeing as he was born on board of a ship, Adrie Mouthaan’s love for boats can’t come as a surprise. His contemporary work is firmly grounded in the traditions of the wild Dordrecht impressionists, adopting the water, the meadows, the sky and the ever changing atmosphere as his sources of inspiration. His paintings, reduced to their essence, are characterized by energetic brush strokes and bright colours.

The sales exhibition runs from September 28 till October 15th, 2017 at E. J. van Wisselingh & Co. 

^{Four works by A.P. Schotel and A. Mouthaan featuring the exhibtion.}

Header image: A.P. Schotel, Sailboat in open water.