Jacobus van Looy painted *The Garden* in the summer of 1893. He had just returned to Amsterdam from a visit to Paris, where the work of French Impressionists had enchanted him. This is clearly visible in the airy brushstrokes and the ‘photographic’ framing of the scene. At that time, there was little interest in Impressionism in the Netherlands. But as negative as the newspapers were in writing about the exhibition at the Arti artists’ society, his colleagues reacted positively. The director of Museum Boijmans was ‘perplexed,’ and Isaac Israëls noted: ‘It is the best painting there is [in Arti], so there is no question of whether you should have had the medal.’
Van Looy did not paint the canvas outdoors, but right in the middle of the new Amsterdam neighborhood of De Pijp. The woman in the sea of flowers is Van Looy’s wife, Titia van Gelder. The newlyweds had only recently moved to Rustenburgerstraat: the garden lies behind their house. Jacobus van Looy was a double talent, a painter and writer. In doing so, he joined the Tachtigers, an innovative movement of like-minded artists, writers, and composers. As a painter, Van Looy initially created mainly landscapes, portraits, and cityscapes. Later, he focused on the flowers and fruits from his own garden. This is the first example of the only five large flower paintings known to be by him.
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