Provenance:
- Dorotheum auction, Vienna, 30.11.2000, Lot 231.
- Rademakers collection.

George Gillis van Haanen (1807 – 1879) was born in Utrecht, two years before his sister (Elisabeth b. 1809), who would also become a painter. After the family moved to Oosterhout, near Breda, a brother was also born (Remigius b. 1812); he too became a painter. All the children were instructed by their father Casparis van Haanen, who himself produced church interiors and landscapes. George Gillis spent a large part of his life abroad; he had a fondness for Germany and Austria. He worked in all genres: landscapes, townscapes, church interiors, candlelit scenes, nocturnal scenes, etc. He died in Bilzen (quoted from: Exh. Cat. Ein romantischer Blick – Die Sammlung Rademakers, M-Museum Leuven, Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, B. C. Koekkoek-Haus, Kleve, Brussels 2011, p. 137).