View of Veere, Holland, 1898 by J.H.Scheltema

Jan Hendrik Scheltema was born in The Hague in 1861. He received a scholarship from King William III of the Netherlands (1880–84), attended the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, and later the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. He arrived in Melbourne in 1888 and was received as an accomplished artist. Joining the Victorian Artists’ Society, he adapted happily to the Australian art world, which was hungry for bush landscapes and scenes of agricultural transformation.

He became particularly known for his lifelike cattle — “Scheltema’s Cows” became a term used by art enthusiasts. A Continental scene like this one stands out among the gum trees and cows, illustrating his origins in Holland — in the late 19th century, the European homeland was a familiar concept when the vast majority of the population had been born outside Australia. This painting was painted plein air on the banks of the canal at Veere; by examining Scheltema’s travels we can pinpoint the date for this work to 1898.