Louis Apol (1850-1936), `Een dag op de Maas` / Ships on the river Maas in Rotterdam, oil on canvas, 97x158 cm, Exhibited:-Rotterdam, Academie van Beeldende Kunsten en Technische Wetenschappen, `Tentoonstelling Levende Meesters`, 1879, no. 9 (sold for: 1,800 Dfl.). Provenance:-Collection of the family of Eelco Nicolaas Kleffens, former minister of foreign affairs during the administration of De Geer II and Gerbrandy II., signed and dated `Louis Apol f 79` (lower left), The rare talent of Louis Apol was already evident in the early stages of his career. He learned to paint under the tutelage of the romantic landscape painter Johannes Franciscus Hoppenbrouwers, but Apol would quickly surpass his tutor in painting winter scenes. In 1869, Apol debuted on the ‘Driejaarlijksche Tentoonstelling’ in The Hague, where Andreas Schelfhout, the ‘king of winters’, praised his work with the words: ‘Die jongen zal ‘t ver brengen’. Only two years later Apol received a Royal grant for painting (‘Koninklijke Subsidie voor de Schilderkunst’) by King Willem III.When we think of Louis Apol, we normally think of winter: thick flakes of snow on tree branches, snow-covered forest lanes, and the stilled silence of a winter evening with red luminous evening light shining through the clouds and trees. What a contrast this is with this enormous harbour scene! The present lot, dated 1879, can still be placed at the beginning of Louis Apol’s oeuvre. The artist was only 29 years old when he painted this monumental work. Apol sent this painting to the ‘Tentoonstelling van Levende Meesters’ in Rotterdam and it almost feels like he wanted to make a statement, to show off his skills and impress colleagues and art critics. This painting is an undeniable sign of the diversity of Louis Apol’s artistry. He is not just a painter of winter scenes, but an academically taught artist with a wide array of skills.This impressive canvas of more than 1.5 meters wide shows the river Maas with numerous three- masters anchored along the quay on the left. Apol manages to capture the grandeur of the Maas and the port of Rotterdam. The width of the river seems to be never-ending and the row of anchored three-masters go on as far as the eye can see. The size of the painting almost makes us believe that this is a historical painting and not a landscape. The whole scene is set in bright sunlight, making us dream of these beautiful days on the Maas along the alluring quays of old Rotterdam.