Attributed to Aelbert Cuyp

With Dominik Artaria, by whom sold in 1804 for 600 florins to
Graf Johan Rudolf Czernin (1757-1845), Vienna;
Thence by descent, until sold in 1978 to Agnew's;
With Thomas Agnew & Sons, London;
The British Rail Pension Fund;
By whom sold, London, Sotheby's, 17 December 1998, lot 19, where acquired by the present owner.

Salzburg, Residenz-Galerie, on loan from 1954;
Salzburg, Residenz-Galerie, Residenz-Galerie mit Sammlung Czernin und Sammlung Schönborn-Buchheim, 1970, no. 37;
Bern, Kunstmuseum, no. 635 (no date), according to a label affixed to the reverse;
J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, California, on loan 1982-1994.

F.H. Böckh, Wiens Schfriftsteller, Künstler und dilletanten im Kunstache, Vienna 1822, p. 296;
J. Smith, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch and Flemish Painters, vol. V, London 1834, p. 343. cat. no. 207;
G. Parthey, Deutscher Bildersaal..., Berlin 1863/4, vol. I, p. 721, cat. no. 29;
G.F. Waagen, Die vornehmsten Kunstdenkmaler in Wien..., Vienna 1866, vol. I, p. 300, cat. no. 73;
G.F. Waagen, Katalog der Graf Czernin'schen Gemäldegalerie in Wien, Vienna 1899, p. 11, cat. no. 119;
A. von Wurzbach, Niederländischen Künsterlexicon, revised ed., Vienna/Leipzig 1906, vol. I, p. 366;
W.J. Knoch, Guide to Count Czernin's Gallery in Vienna, undated, cat. no. 119;
C. Hofstede de Groot, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Painters of the Seventeenth Century, London 1909, vol. II, pp. 73-74, cat. no. 227;
K. Wilczek, Katalog der Graf Czerninischen Gemäldegalerie in Wien, p. 28, reproduced plate 27;
S. Reiss, Aelbert Cuyp, London 1975, p. 113, cat. no. 76, reproduced;
A dealer's record. Agnew's 1967-1981, London 1981, p. 92, reproduced;
B. Broos, in Twee decennia Mauritshuis, The Hague 1991, reproduced fig. 8;
A. Chong, Social Meanings in the Paintings of Aelbert Cuyp, unpublished dissertation, New York 1992, pp. 436-437, cat. no. B.13.

The support consists of two horizontal panels which have been cradled to the reverse. The support is flat and stable. The paint surface is secure and has been recently cleaned. To the naked eye it appears in good condition with the impasto in the foreground and the vigorous brushstrokes in the sky well preserved. A thin line of discoloured retouching can be made out along the panel join. Inspection under UV light confirms the retouchings along the panel join and point to a few more retouchings which are scattered here and there. These few minor retouchings are not obtrusive and have been sympathetically applied. Overall the good condition of the paint surface is confirmed. Offered in a rippled and ebonised wood frame with sme minor knocks but structurally sound.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
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."

This picture had been considered to be an autograph work by Cuyp from at least the early 19th century until recently, when it was doubted by Alan Chong, who included it in his dissertation on the artist, in the 'B' category of works of undecided attribution. His current view is that it is probably not by Cuyp, and that it is more likely to have been painted by an as yet unidentified hand in Cuyp's workshop. He thinks that The Small Dort in the National Gallery in London may well be by the same hand,¹ as well as works in the Frick Collection, New York and elsewhere.

Cuyp is not known to have had any pupils, although according to Houbraken, he gave drawing lessons to Barend Calraet, who was fifteen, in the early 1660s; otherwise there is no concrete evidence that he had a workshop. Alan Chong thinks that Cuyp nonetheless had an active workshop, and has identified a number of works that he thinks are likely to have been painted by artists working within it.

A dendrochronological analysis of this panel carried out by Dr. Peter Klein of Hamburg University has established that the likely felling date of the Baltic oak from which the panel is made was between 1642 and 1650, giving a plausible date of execution of the painting between 1648 and the mid-1650s. This is consistent with Reiss' dating of this picture to the late 1640s (see Literature), and excludes the possibility that the picture could have been painted during the 'Cuyp revival' in the late 18th century. An analysis of the pigments has shown that they are all consistent with a date of execution in the mid-17th century: the blue in the sky is smalt, which Cuyp used regularly; and the yellow is lead tin yellow, which fell into disuse after 1680. The signature has been shown to be contemporary with the painting.

A very similar composition, with the same arrangement of seven cows on a river bank rising to the right, was engraved in mezzotint as a moonlit scene by William Baillie in 1773 (see Reiss, under literature, p. 112, cat. no. 75, reproduced).

1.  See N. Maclaren, revised C. Brown, National Gallery Catalogues. The Dutch School, London 1991, vol. 1, pp. 92-93, cat. no. 962, reproduced vol. 2, plate 79, as by Aelbert Cuyp, dated by Maclaren to shortly after 1650; by Reiss to the late 1640s.