A Wandering Frisian in Europe: Impressionist Siebe Johannes ten Cate
Updated: Sep 17
Have You Ever Heard of the Painter Ten Cate? Then the question quickly arises: which Ten Cate? Earlier this year, that same question undoubtedly echoed through a small Parisian auction house, where a stunning painting, Starry Night by the Sea, was offered for sale. Signed with the name 'Ten Cate,' it was listed as a work by Hendrik Jan ten Cate (1867–1955). A mistake, as soon became clear.
The authoritative Scheen Lexicon lists no fewer than eight artists with this surname (and yes, there are also painters named Ten Kate). Figures like Anne Marie Blaupot ten Cate (1902–2002), Constantina ten Cate (1806–1876), and Hendrik Gerrit ten Cate (1803–1856) make their appearance. But in my humble opinion, the most talented is undoubtedly the Dutch Impressionist Siebe Johannes ten Cate (1858–1908). His dreamy landscapes and vibrant cityscapes, often executed in pastel, carry an unmistakable signature. It didn’t take me long to recognize his hand in Starry Night by the Sea. A rare find! The painting was auctioned off for a modest sum, and the train to Paris was quickly booked.
Who was the Dutch impressionist Siebe Johannes ten Cate?
Siebe ten Cate encountered tragedy early in life. Both his parents died when he was still young. Thanks to the family fortune he inherited, he had the financial freedom to devote himself entirely to art and to build an independent, restless life around it. After studying in Antwerp (1877) and Brussels (1880), he spent 1881–1882 in Norway and travelled via London to Paris in 1883, where he settled permanently that same year. Paris became his base, but he remained constantly on the move. He visited Algiers (1884), Spain (1886), Hamburg (1893), Belgium (1897) and Switzerland (1898), where he travelled to Lucerne, the Vierwaldstättersee and Aarburg Castle. He also travelled extensively throughout France and the Netherlands. He was particularly drawn to water, snow and boats. If a family member or friend told him that it was snowing in the Netherlands, he could take the train to Dordrecht the very next day to capture the landscape.
In 1881, on the evening Ten Cate came of age at twenty-three, a fateful incident took place in Brussels that would profoundly affect the course of his life. He was lured to a meeting place for men outside the city, robbed, and subsequently subjected to prolonged blackmail and threats. Homosexual contact was illegal in Belgium at the time, and the men threatened to report him to the police. The blackmail eventually cost Ten Cate almost 2,000 francs, as well as his watch, overcoat and umbrella. He eventually decided to report the men himself. They were arrested, but Ten Cate was also charged with indecent behaviour. The case became known in his circle and was reported in the newspapers. His fellow artists turned away from him. Only Anthon van Rappard remained loyal. Ten Cate fell into a deep crisis and struggled with suicidal thoughts. He decided to leave Brussels and go as far away as possible. In the autumn of 1881, he left for Holmestrand in Norway, where he spent more than a year travelling through Scandinavia.
Van Rappard, whom Ten Cate had befriended during his studies in Belgium, had earlier encouraged him to come to Paris. Van Rappard himself had worked in the studio of Jean-Léon Gérôme, where he was unhappy and bullied by his fellow students. After almost two years, the storm surrounding the events in Brussels had subsided enough for Ten Cate to make a fresh start. He travelled to Paris via London and settled there permanently in 1883. It was probably through Van Rappard that he also came to know Theo and Vincent van Gogh. Ten Cate was given a studio apartment together with other artists at the Maison divisée en ateliers d’artistes on Avenue de Villiers. He not only had a place to work, but found himself immediately in an environment where he could build his network. He became friends with artists such as Camille Pissarro and Alfred Sisley and quickly found his place within Paris’s international artistic community.
From 1885 onwards, Ten Cate increasingly devoted himself to pastel. Why he chose this medium is not known. Pastel allowed him to work directly and quickly, with intense colours and a remarkable sensitivity to light and atmosphere. His specialisation also gave him an advantage on the art market. While many artists continued to work in more traditional media, Ten Cate developed into a specialist in pastel. The medium was becoming increasingly popular at the time, partly through its use by French Impressionists such as Edgar Degas. For Ten Cate, pastel would ultimately become an important part of both his oeuvre and his artistic reputation.
Paris remained Ten Cate’s base. For a time, he shared a studio with Kees van Dongen, just around the corner from the Rue de la République. From Paris, he continued to travel frequently to nearby towns and the countryside. Along the way, he found an endless supply of subjects: city views, harbours, landscapes and coastal scenes. His works are less precise records of particular places than impressions of atmosphere and the moment.
A major moment in his career came around the turn of the century. At the Exposition Universelle of 1900 in Paris, Ten Cate was awarded a gold medal for his pastels. The award brought him significant recognition and contributed to his breakthrough as an artist. His pastels, with their loose touch and strong sense of atmosphere, became an important part of his oeuvre.
In 1908, Ten Cate’s life came to an unexpected end. He was found dead on the street, penniless and without a wallet or any personal belongings. He is thought to have died from a cerebral haemorrhage. It was only several days later that his friend Henri Spiehlmann was able to identify him. Ten Cate’s entire estate passed to Spiehlmann, who subsequently devoted himself to preserving his friend’s memory. He organised exhibitions and sales of Ten Cate’s work, bringing the artist’s oeuvre back to public attention. During this period, works by Ten Cate were acquired by institutions including the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay. When Spiehlmann died in 1916, however, an important driving force behind Ten Cate’s reputation disappeared with him. His work gradually slipped into obscurity.
Siebe's Starry Night by the Sea
The painting Starry Night by the Sea dates from 1901. In this work, Siebe captures the quiet grandeur of a night on the French coast. The interplay of light and darkness, where sea and sky meet, forms the heart of the painting. The dark, rocky shoreline in the foreground rises as a silent sentinel above the water. But it is the sky, studded with stars twinkling through the twilight, that truly brings the scene to life.
Siebe's use of gold varnish
This painting by Siebe ten Cate has an extraordinary and intriguing feature: the original varnish layer contains gold particles, discovered during restoration. This subtle addition of gold powder lends the work a distinctive, warm glow and was intended by Ten Cate as a visual effect. It’s a bold and surprising choice for a painting from 1901. The use of gold powder in varnish is exceptionally rare and possibly even unique in his oeuvre.
Siebe deliberately applied a “sparse” painting technique to the sea and around the stars. Like Jan Mankes, he thinned the paint with a cloth, his fingers, or an abrasive tool, removing excess paint to reveal bare canvas in places. This creates small, exposed areas in the sky, giving the illusion that the stars are truly glowing. The effect introduces openness and depth into the composition.
Siebe also employed a striking technique: lightly sanding the area around the stars so that the canvas subtly peeks through. This creates an almost ethereal effect, as though the stars themselves emit light. The overall atmosphere is mysterious, almost Symbolist in tone. On the horizon, a small red light appears. Is it a ship or a lighthouse? This red accent inevitably draws the viewer’s gaze to the infinite horizon, adding a subtle tension to the work
.
Siebe’s oeuvre balances between two worlds: serene nature and the bustling energy of the city. The landscapes and architecture of the places he visited play a prominent role in his work. From Lake Lucerne in Switzerland and the forests near Zwolle to the lively markets of Seville, Parisian nightlife, or the bustling activity on the Thames in London. All his works are characterized by a subtle mistiness, a dreamy veil that pervades his entire oeuvre as a signature element. In addition to paintings and pastels, he also produced several etchings and lithographs.
Siebe ten Cate's oeuvre catalogue & RKD Study
Although Siebe ten Cate remained relatively unknown to the wider public for many years, interest in his work has increased considerably in recent years. He was one of the few early Impressionists from the Netherlands. His paintings are held in the collections of museums including the Rijksmuseum, the Louvre and the Musée Carnavalet. Since 2020, the Siebe ten Cate Foundation has been working to restore this artist to his rightful place in art history. In 2025, the RKD and the Siebe ten Cate Foundation published an online catalogue raisonné, accompanied by essays on his life, artistic network and travels. Thanks to the Foundation’s efforts, the book Siebe ten Cate. De vergeten impressionist in Parijs was published in the summer of 2026. The renewed interest in his work will continue in the coming years. The Foundation is currently preparing two exhibitions, one in France and one in the Netherlands.
Bob Scholte Fine Art specialises in the work of Siebe Johannes ten Cate and currently offers a selection of his works for sale. The selection includes characteristic city views and serene landscapes, in which his distinctive pastel technique and remarkable sensitivity to atmosphere come clearly to the fore.
