Paulus Constantijn la Fargue

Princes Kossatkine-Rostovsky, Russia (their wax seal on the reverse);
In the collection of Saam and Lily Nijstad before 1991.

C. Dumas, Haagse Stadgezichten 1550-1800.  Topografische Schilderijen van het Haags Historisch Museum, Zwolle 1991, p. 400, under no. 23, reproduced p. 399, fig. 6 (Binnenhof); p. 470, under no. 34, reproduced p. 469, fig. 5 (Groenmarkt).

The painting are cooler in tone and less red than the catalogue illustrations. Both supports consist of single flat panels which have been bevelled to the reverse. To the naked eye the paint surfaces appear in very good condition and under quite a thick varnish. Minor frame abrasion is present, along which some small retouchings have been applied. The Binnenhof painting has a small scuff on the surface above the building, as visible in the catalogue illustration but the works otherwise appear in very good original condition, as confirmed by inspection with UV light. Offered in modern wooden frames in good condition.
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Paulus Constantijn La Fargue was the best-known of five sibling artists, children of a notary in The Hague, and descendants of Huguenots from Bordeaux.  Apart from the eldest, primarily a portraitist, the La Fargue children are all known for their painted and drawn Dutch townscapes, principally of The Hague, but also of Leiden and further afield.  They were taught by Paulus Constantijn, second eldest son, who was almost certainly autodidact.  Most of their work is still in The Hague: the paintings in the Historisch Museum and the drawings and watercolours in the Gemeentearchief.   

View of the Binnenhof
The Binnenhof or Inner Court is the heart of the old city of The Hague, where the Dutch Parliament has met since 1446.  The view looks very much the same today, if one ignores the besuited security guards and their black limousines (see fig. 1).

Many artists have painted views of the Binnenhof over many centuries - those of Gerrit Berckheyde in the 17th Century are perhaps the most famous.  The point of view of this subject is determined by the compositional advantage of showing the gateway in the distance and a diagonal through the arcading to the left.  As fig 1 shows, this required a small degree of artistic licence.  Jacob Elias La Fargue (1735-after 1771) painted a view from exactly the same spot in 1759 (Fribourg, Fondation d'Affry), and again in circa 1770 (The Hague, Historisch Museum); at about the same time he also made a watercolour (Haarlem, Teylers Museum).¹  Paulus Constantijn La Fargue made a watercolour in 1768 (The Hague, Gemeentearchief) and another in circa 1778 (formerly Hans van Leeuwen, Amerongen), while the Nijstad picture, like its companion, dates from circa 1770.²  In circa 1789, Jan Gerritsz. Visser made an engraving to a design of Karel La Fargue (1738-1793).³  In the earlier versions, including the Nijstad picture, a militia is seen drilling to the right, while later versions show merely their muskets resting on stands. 

View of the Groenmarkt
The second view is of the Groenmarkt, the old vegetable market, from approximately its intersection with the Prinsegracht, looking west along what is now Torenstraat towards Westeinde, with the chapel of the St Nicolaasgasthuis right of centre, and beyond the tower of  the St Jacobskerk.  Unlike its companion, this view looks very different today.  The St Nicolaasgasthuis chapel has gone, and the view is dominated by the monstrous pile of Arts en Zorg and the Hotel Ibis, so that only the St. Jacobskerk remains, though no longer visible from street level.

La Fargue painted and drew the present view on at least five occasions.  Apart from the Nijstad picture, dating from circa 1770, these include a painting on panel in the Haags Historisch Museum datable circa 1765, and three watercolours: one dated circa 1765 (formerly with Meyer Elte, The Hague), and two from a decade later (Gemeentearchief, the Hague and the Heirs of A. Schwarz).⁴ These are all generally based on La Fargue's engraving of 1764 (see fig. 2), but in each case the artist moved his viewpoint slightly, so that, for example, in the last two the water pump in the foreground is not visible.

1.  See C. Dumas under literature, pp. 396-403, no. 23, and reproduced figs 5 & 9.
2.  Idem, reproduced figs 7 & 8.
3.  Idem, reproduced fig.s 10 & 11.
4.  Idem, pp. 461-473, no. 34, reproduced, and figs. 7, 8 & 6 respectively.