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"3 Rabbits in a Meadow" Dated 1920
Johan Cornelis Jacobus Lodewijk Stern (Dutch 1879-1939)
Oil on canvas
Signed and dated 1920 
17 1/4 x 11 1/4 (23 x 17 frame) inches

 

The green background with bits of white and gray seem more like a sea of grass with hints of flowers where the rabbits are placed, rather than a traditional garden. The carrots strewn before our subjects are a brownish orange, and while they resemble carrots, they are more of the artist’s interpretation of them.

 

Why Willem Johan Cornelis Jacobus Lodewijk Stern’s parents burdened him with such a long name will forever remain a mystery. In fact, much of the artist’s life is still a mystery. We do know that he was born in the Netherlands in 1879 and died in 1939, that he lived and worked in various cities and towns within Holland, and that he was an apprentice of artist H.M. Krabbe, who taught at the Applied Arts School in Haarlem. Stern was mainly a painter of animals (especially dogs, horses and rabbits), flowers, still lifes and landscapes.

 

As the artist lived and worked in the age in which impressionism was making a big splash on the Continent, it can be said that he was caught up in this art movement. Although the bunnies have form, the artist’s use of broad brush strokes gives the work a fluidity and lend the impressionistic feeling to it.

 

The rabbits are rounded and mostly white with their fur in shades of brown, black and gray. In spite of the impressionistic feel and flavor of the painting, there is a feeling of genuine affection for the subject matter. It is signed toward the right corner in dark brown with the artist’s name and the date of 1920.

 

This charming and expressive piece is in its original carved and gilded frame. 
 

"3 Rabbits in a Meadow" Dated 1920 by Johan Cornelis Jacobus Lodewijk Stern

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