Horses in de Veluwezoom Painting

Veluwezoom National Park is a national park of the Netherlands located in the province of Gelderland. This park is the oldest national park of the Netherlands.[2] It is an area of 50 square kilometers at the southeastern edge of the Veluwe, a complex of terminal push moraines from the Saalian glaciation. It has a pronounced relief by Dutch standards, with the highest point in the park at 110 meters above sea level.[3] It is a private national park, owned by Vereniging Natuurmonumenten, the largest nature conservation organisation in the Netherlands. Here I am painting the wild horses that roam in the park. I am inspired in this piece, by the Dutch Barbizon school that existed and painted around Renkum in the 19th century. The Barbizon school of painters were part of an art movement towards Realism in art, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. The Barbizon school was active roughly from 1830 through 1870. It takes its name from the village of Barbizon, France, near the Forest of Fontainebleau, where many of the artists gathered. Some of the most prominent features of this school are its tonal qualities, color, loose brushwork, and softness of form. The same movement existed around Renkum and Oosterbeek in 19th centur Netherlands. Artists who were part of the movement near Oosterbeek include Gerard Bilders, Paul Gabriël, Barend Cornelis Koekkoek, Jacob Maris, Matthijs Maris, Willem Maris, Anton Mauve, Hendrik Mesdag, Willem Roelofs, and Jan Hendrik Weissenbruch.