Lot 21: Ferdinand Carl Sierig 1839-1905 , children in the dunes, scheveningen oil on canvas

signed l.r. oil on canvas

39 by 51 cm.

Sierig was born in The Hague as the son of an instrument maker. Having worked in his father's business up to the age of 28, he decided to devote himself entirely to painting in 1867. Sierig went to the Royal Academy in The Hague, where he studied under B.J. van Hove and J.E. van den Berg, followed by a stay at the Academy of D¿sseldorf, where he saw one of his works rewarded with a gold medal. Sierig was a friend of Jacob Maris, Matthijs Maris and Frederik Hendrik Kaemmerer. In 1878 he illustrated Hildebrandt's Camera Obscura.

Sierig specialised in figure painting and genre scenes, of which the present lot is an excellent example. The dunes of Scheveningen form a wonderful backdrop for this joyful, intimate scene of children playing with a lamb. These subjects earned him his greatest success at the art galleries of Frans Buffa (Amsterdam) and Goupil (The Hague), where he exhibited his work regularly.