Herman Frederik Carel ten Kate (1822-1891)

Herman Frederik Karel ten Kate was a 19th-century painter, watercolourist and graphic artist. His works typify as historical genre art. He painted groups of people with a particular theme. Drinking soldiers in a pub, a domestic scene, people with common interests.

 

The foundations of his career were laid both in the artistic milieu he grew up in and in his study at painter Cornelis Kruseman in Amsterdam. After his study, he travelled through several Western European countries. His interest in history, especially the 80-year War, inspired him to paint historical subjects.

 

In 1872, he designed a postage stamp depicting King Willem III.

 

After this he was assigned to make a portrait of the Royal Family, King Willem III (1817-1890), queen Emma (1858-1934) and princess Wilhelmina (1880-1962).

Not everyone in those days was able to read. So a newsreader visited pubs and places where people gathered to find out what was going on. The newsreader seems a wise and educated person, the 3 men on the left are very interested in his story. The couple on the right seem to be more interested in each other!

 

The scene is a historic setting, the 19th century painter Ten Kate goes back to the 17th century, 2 centuries before his time. This was his favorite setting as he was very interested in historical events, customs, appearance and clothing.