Panorama of Mesdah

In 1880, he was invited by a Belgian company to paint the landscape, and with the help of his wife and a group of art students, the masterpiece was completed a year later. But after 5 years, the fashion for panoramas came to an end, and the company that invited Hendrick to cooperate soon went bankrupt. He bought the panorama with his own savings.

The height of the picture is about 14 meters, the diameter is about 40, and the circumference is 120 meters. The cylindrical shape of the landscape helps viewers in the center of the room to feel themselves standing on high sand dunes overlooking the sea. The canvas also depicts beaches and the village of Scheveningen.

The emphasis made by the author on the details placed in the foreground of the canvas helps visitors to believe with greater convincingness that around them is not a beautiful optical illusion, but real sandy shores surrounded by sea water.

The painting is now in the art museum in The Hague, located in the artist’s former home, which preserves all the creations created by Hendrick and his wife from 1866 to 1903.