The Hague School, which emerged around 1870, has had a lasting influence on our concept of the Dutch landscape. Inspired by the Barbizon School in France, this group of artists, whose members included Jozef Israëls, Hendrik Willem Mesdag, the Maris brothers, Anton Mauve, and Johan Hendrik Weissenbruch, strove to achieve realistic depictions of nature. With a nuanced observation of atmosphere, their plein-air landscapes and scenes of everyday life were soon admired around the world.This publication does not concentrate on the Hague School itself, which also inspired German Realists such as Max Liebermann, but rather on their view of a Dutch landscape that around 1875 had to give way to increasing urbanization and industrialization. Featuring about hundred paintings, watercolors, and historical photographs, this book traces the invention of a type of landscape still considered characteristic of Holland to this day. Exhibition schedule: Neue Pinakothek, Munich , October 23, 2008–January 19, 2009