Masterfully genre scene on the terrace with children playing with a cat by prominent German painter of Dutch origin Theodor van (von) der Beek (1838 in Kaiserswerth - 1921 in Duesseldorf). He was German portrait and genre painter of the Düsseldorf school.

Initially employed in the business of his father, a beer brewer, von Beek entered the elementary class of Andreas Müller at the Düsseldorf Art Academy in 1856, switched to the painting class of Carl Ferdinand Sohn in 1859 and was in the master class of Eduard Bendemann from 1862 to 1866. In addition to portraits, including numerous self-portraits, he created multi-figure compositions in the landscape or in rural environments and interiors that are reminiscent of works by Ludwig Knaus, Benjamin Vautier or Carl Hübner, and others. a. The bridal shoes (1872, 1874), a pawn game (1880) or panic horror (1885). Travel led him to southern Germany and Spain in the 1890s and inspired him to new visual themes, including a. The Royal Tobacco Factory in Seville or Arab Dance. He participated in many exhibitions, also outside of Düsseldorf, for example in Berlin (Academic Art Exhibitions 1881, 1883, 1884, 1892; Jubilee Exhibition 1886; International Art Exhibition 1896), Dresden (1883), Glasgow (1887), London (1877, 1896 , 1898), Munich (1879, 1883), Hamburg (1887), Salzburg (1886) and Vienna (1888). His most successful image creations appeared as wood engraving reproductions in illustrated magazines, such as Panischer Schrecken (At Home, 1882), Pilgrims at the Ferry and A Duet (Over Land and Sea, 1881 and 1887) or A Pfänderspiel (Die Gartenlaube, 1882).

There are in museum collections following works by this artist: Pilgrims at the ferry (around 1880), Rheinisches Landesmuseum BonnHead of a young girl, Landesmuseum MainzGypsy girl, Westphalian State Museum, MunsterPortrait of a woman, Wiesbaden MuseumLittle girl at the lake, Wiesbaden museum

Literature: Fr.von Boetticher Artist lexicons (all in German) by Thieme/Becker, Vollmer, Saur; Fr.von Boetticher " List of 19th century paintings", Dresden 1891.

Inscription: signed lower right.

Technique: oil on canvas. Luxuriousy original period gold-plated wooden frame.

Measurements: unframed w 20 7/8" x h 26 3/4" (53 x 68 cm), , framed w 29 1/8" x h 35" (74 x 89 cm)

Condition: in very good condition, old relining of canvas.