Willem Koekkoek

Private collection, Germany

The canvas has been relined. Some retouches along all edges due to frame abrasion. a few minor old retouches in the sky. This work would benefit from cleaning, otherwise in good condition.
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Willem Koekkoek was born in Amsterdam on 13th January 1839 as the son of Hermanus Koekkoek (1815-1882), the famous marine painter. While he studied under his father, he soon adopted town scenes as his favourite subject, not in the least because it was so distinctly different from the subject matter of the other members of the Koekkoek family.

Living in Amsterdam, Willem, like many of his contemporaries, travelled widely in search of commissions and subject matter. He soon became one of the most distinguished painters of townscapes working in respectively The Hague (before 1878), Utrecht (1878-1880), Amsterdam (1880-1885) and Nieuwer-Amstel (1885-1895). He is recorded having visited London in 1888, where his brother Hermanus Koekkoek jr. ran an art gallery. It is therefore not surprising that many of Willem Koekkoek's townscapes ended up in Britihs collections, gathering admiration for their refined style and nostalgic mood.  

A true representative of Dutch Romanticism, Koekkoek stressed the picturesque qualities of Dutch towns. He especially excelled in the minutiae of the subject. His rendering of the brickwork of the gabled town houses, the weathering of the tiles, the worn white-washed walls and the depicition of glass window panes are unsurpassed. In this work the village is covered in snow which heightens the effect of light and shadow. The artist draws the eye of the beholder down the snow covered bridge right into the centre of the painting, with shaded and bright areas to the left and right side, thus creating a harmonious, balanced effect.

Besides views of towns like Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Enkhuizen and Gouda, Koekkoek also painted imaginary streetscenes such as the current lot. He derived as much from his own artistic imagination as from any particular site. This was common practice in the 19th century. Most romantic painters felt free to adjust reality to fit their own vision, as can be seen in the town views of Adrianus Eversen, Cornelis Springer and Charles Leickert, to name just a few.