Following the abolition of the
patronage for artist they were searching for a new way. The city of 's-Gravenhage (The Hague) with its surroundings and the coastal landscape of the
North Sea at
Scheveningen became attractive for young painters. In 1847 with the establishment of the association Pulchri Studio such a new approach has been emerged. These artist's association is a typical Dutch development. It stands in the continuation of the tradition of the old academies of the 17th and 18th centuries. A special role has played gatherings, which were called
art considerations (Kunstbeschouwingen). They offered the artists the opportunity to present their own works the other members and to exchange information with the other painters. This way of handling the works creators as an
Apprentice with other artists as
Master has been the guarantee of the success of the Hague School. The location served as a studio and workshop. Right at the beginning this cooperative had no exhibition rooms. Alternatively the painters participated in the two or three-yearly
Exhibition of Living Masters. – In 1882,
Vincent van Gogh participated in such an art appreciation along with Bosboom and Henkes. The location had the function of the social contact to the native population. It wasn't only a place of social encounter, but at the same time it offered to the artists the opportunity to communicate with collectors and dealers. – This was very important. Among the founding members of
Pulchri has been
Lambertus Hardenberg,
Willem Roelofs,
Jan Hendrik Weissenbruch and
Bartholomeus Johannes van Hove. In 1847, Van Hove has been the first chairman of the artists association. Short time later King
Willem II. took over the
patronage. A short time later
Johannes Bosboom,
Jozef Israëls,
Hendrik Willem Mesdag,
Jan Weissenbruch and some lesser-known artists joined Pulchri. Subsequent significant members are also
Jan Sluyters,
Paul Citroen and
Willy Sluiter. Many painters, who are today attributed to the
Hague School, had position on the board and made this cooperative to a stronghold: Bosboom was chairman from 1852 to 1853, Israëls from 1875 to 1878, and Mesdag from 1898 to 1907. But even
Jacob Maris and
Willem Maris,
Anton Mauve,
Roelofs and
Jan Weissenbruch were members of the executive committee. They were responsible for the
drawing room, the
art considerations or the
social meetings. The growing membership forced the organizers to expand and in 1901 it was moved to the building on the Lange Voorhout 15. In 2004, a number of works from Pulchri were stolen, later recovered in 2007. ==The two rival cooperatives==