Naar aanleiding van de dood van Jacob Maris - Marius Bauer

A poignant 1899 lithograph by Marius Bauer, created as a memorial tribute to the Dutch painter Jacob Maris, featuring an allegorical figure in a funerary setting.

This lithograph by Marius Bauer, titled 'Naar aanleiding van de dood van Jacob Maris', was published as a supplement to the Dutch periodical 'De Kroniek' on 13 August 1899. The work functions as a funerary allegory, marking the passing of the Dutch painter Jacob Maris. Bauer employs a sombre, symbolic visual language to convey the finality of death and the preservation of artistic memory.

The composition features a cloaked, winged figure, representing an angel of death or a guardian of the afterlife. This figure is positioned before a series of arched niches, which resemble a columbarium or a sacred tomb. The angel is shown placing an urn into an empty niche. The urn is clearly inscribed with the name 'J. Maris'. To the left and right of this central action, other urns are visible in adjacent niches, bearing the names 'A. Mauve' and 'J. Bosboom'. These names refer to Anton Mauve and Johannes Bosboom, fellow members of the Hague School who had also passed away by the time of this publication.

Bauer uses a delicate, sketch-like line quality to render the ethereal form of the angel and the textured stone of the architectural setting. The light source appears to emanate from within the niches, casting soft shadows that contribute to the melancholic atmosphere. The work avoids excessive detail, focusing instead on the quiet, ritualistic nature of the scene. By grouping Jacob Maris with Mauve and Bosboom, Bauer situates the deceased artist within the established canon of the Hague School, acknowledging the collective loss felt by the Dutch art community at the turn of the century. The print remains a poignant example of late nineteenth-century commemorative illustration, reflecting the period's interest in allegorical representations of mortality.