Matthijs Maris
Illustration — Self-portrait of Matthijs Maris, c. 1875 • Illustration — Matthijs Maris, Wash Day • Illustration — Matthijs Maris, The Bride, or Novice taking the Veil, 1887 • Illustration — Matthijs Maris, The Goatherd Matthias Maris (17 August 1839 – 22 August 1917) was a Dutch painter, etcher and lithographer. He was also known as Matthijs Maris or Thijs.
Also recorded as Matthew Maris · Thijs Maris · Matthias Maris · Matthys Maris
Matthijs Maris

GodeNehler · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Born
- 1839. · The Hague.
- Died
- 1917. · London.
- Nationality
- Kingdom of the Netherlands.
- Movements
- Hague School.
- Education
- Royal Academy of Art.
- Known for
- A Fairytale, Brook in the Woods near Oosterbeek and The Noord-West-Buitensingel in The Hague.
- Languages
- Dutch.
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
Illustration — Self-portrait of Matthijs Maris, c. 1875 • Illustration — Matthijs Maris, Wash Day • Illustration — Matthijs Maris, The Bride, or Novice taking the Veil, 1887 • Illustration — Matthijs Maris, The Goatherd Matthias Maris (17 August 1839 – 22 August 1917) was a Dutch painter, etcher and lithographer. He was also known as Matthijs Maris or Thijs.
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wikipedia incomplete · checked 25 September 2026
- Identity
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- Independent source families
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Authority files
wikidata · Q1375830 · wikipedia · Matthijs Maris
In this article
Identity and origins
Identity and origins
He initially belonged to the Hague School, like his two brothers, Jacob and Willem, but his later works deviated more and more from that school into a unique style influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites. He was born in The Hague. At the age of twelve, he registered at the Hague Academy of Art, but did not pass the entrance exam. Therefore, he took lessons from Isaac Cornelis Elink Sterk, secretary of the academy. One year later he was admitted and studied there until 1855. In 1854 he became a pupil of the marine painter Louis Meijer, who helped him obtain a grant from Queen Sophie that enabled him to follow his brother Jacob to Antwerp, where they rented rooms together. In 1858 Matthijs returned to The Hague, where Jacob already had a studio they could share. A later commission enabled them to travel in and start painting in Oosterbeek with painters as Gerard Bilders and Anton Mauve. In 1860 he traveled with his brother Jacob along the Rhine to Switzerland and back through France to the Netherlands. In Cologne the brothers saw an exhibition that presented an overview of German art since 1800, which intensified the influence of German Romanticism on Matthijs. Upon his return to the Netherlands Matthijs showed some of his works in Amsterdam and The Hague, but they were not well received. This led him to become bitter and withdrawn. Jacob was having success in Paris, and invited Matthijs to join him there, which he did in 1869. After the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71 Jacob returned to The Hague with his family and the loneliness after the departure of Jacob was difficult for Matthijs. There was bitter poverty for him, as for so many artists at that time in Paris, so he went back to work. His style changed very little and was more reminiscent of the earlier period. Later he would distance himself from these works, dismissing them as 'potboilers', only painted in order to put food on the table. An art dealer Daniel Cottier convinced him to settle in London, which he did in 1877. There he painted more imaginative scenes: fairytale characters and enchanted castles. He also painted a number of brides in fine gray tones, delicate and hazy like a dream. He made portraits, especially of the children of friends such as Baby lessor (private collection, 1880) and Barije Swan (Gemeentemuseum, 1887), the fragile child in her white and gray painted lace dress with fine color accents of yellow lemon and the blue ribbons. Children, whether or not combined with animals, were always a favorite subject. He painted portraits and figure in gray-brown tones in many layers, using dry loose paint. The image is as it were veiled in mist. Maris died in London on 22 August 1917, when he was seventy-eight, following a short illness, and was buried there.
Matthijs Maris studied at Royal Academy of Art. The recorded working language is Dutch. The field of work recorded is painting, graphics and lithography. Places of work recorded in the authority are The Hague, Antwerp and Germany. Works named in the authority record are A Fairytale, Brook in the Woods near Oosterbeek and The Noord-West-Buitensingel in The Hague. Work by Matthijs Maris is recorded in the collections of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Kröller-Müller Museum and Centraal Museum.
He also worked under the name Maris, Matthew. The authorities additionally record the headings Matthew Maris, Thijs Maris, Matthias Maris, Matthys Maris and Matthia Maris. His recorded language was Dutch.
Career and activity
Career and activity
Matthijs Maris worked in painting, graphics and lithography. His work is associated with Hague School. He belonged to Hague School. He worked at The Hague, Antwerp, Germany and Switzerland.
Work and production
Work and production
Works recorded as notable number 3: A Fairytale, Brook in the Woods near Oosterbeek and The Noord-West-Buitensingel in The Hague.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
Explore 1839–1917
The full dated record · 3 entries
1839
Matthijs Maris was born in 1839 at The Hague.
1917
Matthijs Maris died in 1917 at London.
1917
Matthew Maris an illustrated souvenir is dated 1917.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
The Hague.
Birth place
London.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
scholarly publication
- Matthijs Maris in Parijs, Oud Holland - Quarterly for Dutch Art History, 1975
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 1975
- Matthijs Maris=documenten, Oud Holland - Quarterly for Dutch Art History, 1927
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 1927
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q1375830: Matthijs Maris
Reputable secondary · Wikidata
- “Matthijs Maris”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Literature
Literature
Literature
Maris, Matthijs, Benezit Dictionary of Artists, 2011
Maris, Matthijs, Oxford Art Online, 2003
Tekeningen van Matthijs Maris uit het bezit van Ernest Fridlander, The Rijksmuseum Bulletin, 1985
Matthijs Maris=documenten, Oud Holland - Quarterly for Dutch Art History, 1927
Matthijs Maris in Parijs, Oud Holland - Quarterly for Dutch Art History, 1975
Scholarly footprint
Literature
Scholarly footprint
A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
scholarly publication
Verifiedscholarly publication
Verifiedreference work
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Paintings
18,623 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Matthijs AccamaArtist
- Matthijs BalenArtist
- Matthijs Bril the YoungerArtist
- Matthijs HaringsArtist
- Matthijs MussonArtist
- Matthijs NaiveuArtist
- Matthijs RölingArtist
- Mattia BattiniArtist
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