Willem Bastiaan Tholen

In the following years Gabriël's advice was of particular importance for Tholen, as they worked together en plein air for many summers near Kampen and Giethoorn, among other places.

In 1885 Willem Witsen invited Tholen to visit his family's country house near Baarn, where their contemporaries, George Hendrik Breitner and Anton Mauve were frequent guests.

Tholen established his reputation in The Hague with his landscapes of the countryside around Kampen and views of the woods near Baarn.

He painted the fishing boats on the beach in Scheveningen, but in contrast to Jacob Maris (whom he greatly admired), Tholen did not employ the desolate sea as a backdrop, but rather, the bustling village.

His second wife was dollhouse collector Lita de Ranitz; they married in 1919, and he created small artworks for her collection.