Attributed to Herman van Swanevelt

"The following condition report has been provided by Henry Gentle, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The canvas is unlined, there is a loss of tension and patches of raised and unstable paint are visible. The sky has been extensively repainted throughout, to cover the results of minor blistering. The rest of the composition, barring some minor losses, is in a well preserved condition. The varnish has discoloured and its removal would improve the tonality. Offered in a black frame with a gold sight edge in good condition."
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

We are grateful to Dr. Anne Charlotte Steland for tentatively endorsing the attribution to Swanevelt on the basis of photographs and for suggesting a date of execution circa 1633/34 whilst the artist was living in Rome. Dr. Steland has compared the rendering of the sky and trees in the present work to other landscapes painted by Swanevelt during the 1630s, for example his Landscape with Apollo and Marseus in the Palazzo Barberini in Rome.¹

Dr. Steland has pointed out that, if not by Swanevelt himself, this landscape must surely have been painted by an artist working very closely in his circle, such as Francesco Catalani di Benevento (circa 1610-1681). Catalani lived with Swanevelt in Rome from 1634-6 and copied his style very closely. The resulting landscapes produced by Catalani during this period were so similar to Swanevelt's own that the latter finally brought a lawsuit against Catalani in 1636.

Dr. Steland will be including this painting in her forthcoming catalogue raisonné on Swanevelt.

1. Paesaggio e veduta da Poussin a Canaletto: Dipinti da Palazzo Barberini, ex. cat., Turin, Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli, 2006, p. 132, cat. no. 7, reproduced in colour p. 64.