| Marsh with Water Lilies | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Vincent van Gogh |
| Year | 1881 |
| Catalogue | F845 JH7 |
| Type | Pencil, pen, reed pen |
| Dimensions | 23.5 cm × 31 cm (9.25 in × 12.25 in) |
| Location | Private collection |
Marsh with Water Lilies is a drawing by Vincent van Gogh. It was executed at Etten (now Etten-Leur) in June 1881.
Vincent's father Theodorus van Gogh, a pastor, was called to Etten in 1875. Vincent spent periods of time there, notably from Easter to Christmas 1881 when he returned to join his brother Theo, an art dealer, determined to become an artist. This period at Etten represents the beginning proper of Vincent's ten-year career as an artist. He had drawn since boyhood, and the previous year had enrolled in a beginners' class in Brussels where he met the painter Anthon van Rappard, but he now began to draw in earnest. He rapidly developed an accomplished technique in landscape drawing but remained rather more uncertain in his figure drawing, which he practiced assiduously with the aid of Charles Bargue's drawing course.[1] Rappard made a twelve-day visit during this time, and they sketched together in the marshes and heaths round Etten. Vincent also visited his cousin-in-law Anton Mauve in The Hague, a celebrated artist of the time, who had expressed an interest in his drawings and who encouraged him further. At this time Vincent had not progressed as far as painting, though he did wash some of his drawings with watercolor. At the end of the year he made an extended visit to Mauve, who introduced him to painting. He returned to Etten with the intention of setting up a studio there. However he quarreled with his father on Christmas Day and left the family home to set up his studio in The Hague instead.[2]
