Jacob Huijbrecht Hollestelle artwork • painting • for sale Hunter and his dog in a snowy landscape

Jacob Hollestelle, born in 1858 in Middelburg, went to work as an art teacher in Dordrecht after his education at the Academy of Fine Arts in The Hague and the Polytechnic School in Delft. Here he came into contact with Théophile de Bock, a great advocate of painting from nature in the open air, following the French School of Barbizon. From De Bock, Hollestelle learns to paint in the style of the Hague School. In a broad stroke, he captures the essence of a landscape or cityscape. His snow effects are particularly praised. The city of Dordrecht is often his subject, but Zeeland continues to attract him. There he prefers to travel around on his own and makes drawings, landscapes and historical city scenes, with an excellent eye for detail and a refined elaboration of his figures. In his personal life, Hollestelle experiences quite a few setbacks; He lost his two children and for the last ten years of his life he had difficulty walking due to an accident. This may explain, in addition to his modest character, that he has not become more known with his talent.