Art from around 1900 (Fin-de-siècle): innovation, vision, and diversity in modern art
Art around 1900 – A time of imagination and change
A concise overview of Dutch art styles, artists, and ideas between 1880 and 1950
Fin-de-siècle refers to the period around the turn of the 20th century, marked by both a sense of cultural refinement and artistic innovation, as well as underlying themes of decadence and transition. This period represents an exceptionally rich and layered chapter in Dutch art history. These decades mark a fundamental shift: from the pursuit of naturalistic representation of the visible world to a more subjective, inward approach to reality. Artistic production during this time reflects an era of social and cultural upheaval, in which artists searched for new and fitting visual languages to express their vision of humanity and the world.
Impressionism ushered in this renewal around 1880. In the Netherlands, artists such as Isaac Israels and Siebe Johannes ten Cate exemplify this movement, with their loose brushwork and focus on light and movement - perfectly suited to the modern city and the fleeting nature of the moment. In parallel, Symbolism emerged, offering a more introspective, poetic visual language. Jan Toorop played a central role in this development, as did Jan Mankes, whose work - on the border between Symbolism and Realism - comprises a contemplative and carefully constructed body of paintings, mainly featuring animals, still lifes, and landscapes.
Jan Mankes, Girl with Thrush, 1912, oil on canvas, 42 x 31 cm. Bob Scholte Fine Art facilitated the sale between Frank Welkenhuysen and a client. Click to view more works by Jan Mankes.
The expressive side of modernity finds powerful expression in the work of Vincent van Gogh, whose intense brushwork and bold use of colour not only convey a deeply personal emotional world but also mark a crucial prelude to Expressionism. This search for a new visual language continues in the work of Jan Sluijters, who was initially influenced by Luminism and Cubism, but eventually developed a distinctive and recognisable style. Leo Gestel, too, was a versatile innovator. In 1918, the expressionist art collective De Ploeg was founded in Groningen, further advancing modernity in the north of the Netherlands.
Around 1900, the graceful Art Nouveau movement - known in the Netherlands as Nieuwe Kunst - took shape. Jan Toorop’s expressive poster for the Dutch Oil Company, often referred to as the ‘salad oil style’, features elegant female figures infused with Symbolist and Javanese influences. The work of Theo van Hoytema and Gerrit Willem Dijsselhof, inspired by the animals in Artis Zoo, represents a key moment in this decorative style that bridged painting and applied arts.
The search for pure form and universal harmony reached a high point with the development of abstract art, particularly within the De Stijl movement. Piet Mondrian, initially influenced by Symbolism and Theosophy, gradually eliminated all figurative elements from his work, ultimately arriving at a completely abstract visual language - built on line, plane, and primary colour as carriers of a universal order.
Between the two world wars, a new artistic direction emerged: Neue Sachlichkeit, or New Objectivity, in which personal expression gave way to a more detached and rational approach to painting. Within this movement, Nola Hatterman stood out with powerful portraits focused on social and cultural identity. Sculpture, too, underwent modernisation - Charlotte van Pallandt, for instance, reduced the human form in her sober and concentrated works to timeless, simplified shapes.
What makes the period from 1880 to 1950 enduringly relevant is its sheer richness of styles, ideas, and visual approaches. Art around 1900 is far from uniform; it is multifaceted - a mirror of a time in which tradition and progress were in constant dialogue. For collectors, this period remains an inexhaustible source of meaning, with the human imagination at its heart in all its forms.
The Scholte Collection specializes in Dutch modern art from around 1900 and presents carefully selected works by significant artists from this dynamic period - where depth, quality, and character converge.
Siebe Johannes ten Cate, Place de la République, Paris, c. 1895, watercolour, gouache and pencil, 36 x 44 cm. Click to view more works by Siebe ten Cate.
Nola Hatterman, The Peoples of Suriname in the Shadow of the Colonial Ruler, c. 1983, oil on canvas, 120 x 160 cm, exhibition: 'Identity' (1984), Paramaribo, provenance: Nola Hatterman Estate. Click to view more works by Nola Hatterman.