Barbara van Houten – In the light of the Mesdags

The exhibition Barbara van Houten - In the Light of The Mesdags follows her artistic development, highlights her great versatility and shows how family relationships influenced her work. Although Van Houten played an important role in the 19th-century Dutch art world, she is hardly known to the general public today. With the support and encouragement of her family, including her aunt Sientje Mesdag-van Houten and uncle Hendrik Willem Mesdag, she developed into a versatile and respected artist. She made colourful drawings, watercolours and paintings, engaged in woodworking and devoted herself to etching - a medium in which she excelled.

Characterful etchings and colourful paintings 

Van Houten was one of the few female artists of her time who etched. In 1880, she spent a year in Paris, where she mastered the etching technique largely on her own. Once back in the Netherlands, she produced expressive landscapes, still lifes, portraits and interior scenes. She also made many reproductions, for which the art collection, the museum and the Mesdag couple's home were a rich source of inspiration. Since she lived in her aunt and uncle's house for two years, she was able to study those surroundings well. Around 1910, Van Houten stopped etching permanently. From then on, colour became an essential element in her work, including her drawings. Whereas she initially chose a subtle palette, her later works became increasingly bright in colour. Domestic scenes, portraits of people from her immediate surroundings and still lifes were favourite subjects. For the last 20 years of her life, Van Houten led a rather isolated existence, focusing entirely on her art. She continued to paint until the end of her life.

De Mesdag Collection

The Mesdag Collection holds the largest collection of works by Barbara van Houten in public ownership. A small part of this was collected by the Mesdag couple and was exhibited at the museum during the artist's lifetime. The other part was later acquired by the museum. A large donation from 2023 of an album of works on paper is a highlight in this regard. For the first time now, 75 years after her death, her work is being shown in the Mesdags' former home: a place where Van Houten was a child and created many works of art.