The Hague's Prodigy The Hague, 1838. A child is born into a world of strict tradition and emerging artistic rigor. Maurits Leon enters the scene during a period of profound cultural shifts in the Netherlands. By 1853, the boy is no longer merely observing; he is a student at the Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten. Under the watchful eyes of Bartholomeus Johannes van Hove, Hubertus van Hove, David Bles, and Petrus Franciscus Gre…