Théodore T’Scharner (1826–1906)
Le Château d’Eysden, n.d.

Oil on canvas
McMullen Museum of Art, Boston College, Gift of Charles Hack and the Hearn Family Trust

Jeffery Howe
Professor Emeritus, Art History

In 1870, T’Scharner moved into the Château d’Eysden near Maastricht, which he painted many times. The château dates to the seventeenth century, with later renovations. It is sited on the Meuse river, with extensive parkland, in the Belgian province of Limburg. T’Scharner focuses on the gatehouse in the foreground, silhouetting the château’s towers against the evening sky with the glow of sunset lighting the clouds. A small figure in black adds a note of mystery to the scene. Above the house, branches of the trees blend and blur into the sky.