Gerardus Johannes (Gerard) Delfgaauw (1882 - 1947), second generation The Hague School. Impressionist-naturalistic.

Life and work: Delfgaauw was born in Monster in 1882. In 1907 he settled in Rijswijk, where he died in 1947. He mainly formed himself after training at the then drawing academy in The Hague. This was around the turn of the century.

Gerard Delfgaauw grew up in the watery Westland. From 1914 he lived and worked in Rijswijk. The polder landscape, with its windmills in particular, is therefore an important subject in many of his paintings. But Delfgaauw's oeuvre is much broader. He painted village and city views (including of Dordrecht and Delft), winter landscapes and scenes in the port of Rotterdam.

Delfsgaauw painted in the impressionist-naturalistic style. He is considered part of the second generation of The Hague School. Gerard Delfgaauw was the painter of sunlight, ie there is always the sun that chases away the shadows. His skies are roughly applied to the canvas in light tones and invite the viewer to enter the landscape. Because the demand for his work was so great and he wanted to maintain the quality at a good level despite his high productivity, he regularly painted under the pseudonyms J. Van Delden and (from around 1940) J. van Gessel. He was also a teacher of his son Dr. JGM Delfgaauw. The painting “The three windmills in Leidschendam”, on which Delfgaauw was working at the time of his death, is still family property in unfinished condition. The blades of the windmills are missing on this canvas.

Delfgaauw was already appreciated in his own time. Prime Minister Willem Drees, for example, had the beach scene of Scheveningen with the old pier ”on the wall.