Adrianus Jacobus Vrolijk

1834 – 1862

A.J. Vrolijk was born in The Hague on 9th March, 1834. He was the brother of the artist Jan Maerten Vrolijk, who
painted landscapes.

Vrolijk began his career under the tutelage of the great master of the Romantic School, Andreas Schelfhout (1787-1870). Schelfhout was a much sought-after teacher who taught at least 30 students over the years, including Leickert, Roosenboom and Jongkind. Vrolijk was very privileged to be accepted into this highly prestigious studio.

Schelfhout was a painter of the ‘sincere’ Dutch landscape and his contemporary scenes with windmills and rivers were highly influential and made an important contribution to Dutch landscape painting in the 19th century. Vrolijk was particularly influenced by Schelfhout’s continuing of the tradition of the 17th century masters in depicting the surroundings of Scheveningen and Noordwijk with fishermen and beached boats. Both Vrolijk and Leickert took up this theme with very pleasing results.

Vrolijk died in The Hague on 21st March, 1862.
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