"Roelofs puts emotion in his paintings, which can sometimes cause a melancholy in those misty, windy landscapes of the north. 'De oevers van het Gein' ['The banks of the river Gein'] are interrupted halfway [in the painting] and the melancholy is floating through the gray mist which rises from the fields, ploughed with blonde stripes. In this canvas the virile and the refined talent of Roelofs are both completely expressed: the horizon is bathing in the air, the depths are illuminated somewhat transparent, the water clear and shiny, is painted beautifully and the reeds along the banks, together with the bright light are contrasting with that hazy green of the trees. In everything you can feel the nearness of the sea and one can give way to dreamy reflections. (translation from original Dutch: Fons Heijnsbroek)"