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Sadée was a social realist whose paintings usually depict the working poor. His paintings have much in common with those of the French artist Leon L'Hermitte although a period in Dusseldorf also affected his painting style.

Sadée was one of the first Dutch artists to paint the fisherfolk of The Netherlands, depicting them as poor but also hard working and - in their struggle to survive - heroic.

Here the mother holding the hand of one child and cradling another in her arms, looks out to sea. The implication in this pose is that either she is awaiting the return of a loved one or, more poignantly, is remembering the father of her children who has been lost at sea. Such images were popular both with artists and with the public and Sadée painted this scene many times.