Salomon van Ruysdael

Dutch private collection;
With Frits Lugt (1884-1970), Maartensdijk;
From whom acquired by J.W. Nienhuys, Bloemendaal;
Mrs. A.M. Nienhuys-Versteegh, Aerdenhout;
Anonymous sale, Amsterdam, Paul Brandt, 11 May 1971, lot 7 (for 132,000 florins);
R. Smith, Washington;
David Koetser, 1984. 

Haarlem, Frans Halsmuseum, Tentoonstelling oude kunst in particulier bezit te Haarlem in het Frans Hals museum, 18 December 1926 – 15 January 1927, probably no. 15 (based an annotated copy of the exhibition catalogue where it is also listed as signed);
Amsterdam, Kunsthandel J. Goudstikker, Tentoonstelling van werken door Salomon van Ruysdael, January - February 1936, no. 17;
Birmingham 1995, no. 19;
New Orleans 1997, no. 47;
Baltimore 1999, no. 46.

W. Stechow, Salomon van Ruysdael. Eine Einführung in seine Kunst, mit kritischem Katalog der Gemälde, Berlin 1938, pp. 21, 106, cat. no. 331;
J. W. Niemeyer, "Het topografisch element in enkele riviergezichten van Salomon van Ruysdael nader beschouwd," in Oud Holland, vol. 74, 1959, pp. 52, reproduced p. 53, fig. 6;
W. Stechow, Salomon van Ruysdael. Eine Einführung in seine Kunst, mit kritischem Katalog der Gemälde, Berlin 1975, pp. 21, 118-119, cat. no. 331;
P.C. Sutton, Dutch and Flemish Seventeenth-Century Paintings: The Harold Samuel Collection, exhibition catalogue, Cambridge 1992, p. 177 (with incorrect illustration);
New Orleans 1997, pp. 120-122, cat. no. 47, reproduced p. 121;
Baltimore 1999, pp. 107-109, cat. no. 46, reproduced p. 107 and p. 109.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This work is in beautiful condition. It is probably clean. With a fresh varnish, it could be hung as is. The oak panel has been successfully cradled. The panel is flat, and the paint layer is stable. If the panel is made from two pieces of wood, there is no evidence of any original join. For a work of this scale by this artist, the few tiny isolated dots of retouching in the sky are the least one can expect. The condition is spectacular.
"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."

Imbued with a golden splendor, this serene composition is one of the finest and most lyrical of Salomon van Ruysdael’s mature river landscapes.  Dated 1641, the painting can be situated toward the end of Ruysdael’s tonalist period—a phase characterized by an emphasis on softened atmospheric conditions that he developed alongside his contemporary, Jan van Goyen.  Here, voluminous clouds expand above a peaceful river scene.  Various vessels—rowboats, sailboats, and even a ferry laden with a herd of cattle—float along a river whose blue surface is slightly rippled by a gentle breeze.  Two large trees rise from a green, grassy river bank at right that slopes down to the water and recedes diagonally towards the horizon, drawing the eye towards a faint cityscape in the distance.  Beyond the bank at right rises the tower of Liesvelt Castle—a fortress that sat along the bank of the Lek River in South Holland until it was demolished in 1740.¹  It appears Ruysdael appreciated the picturesque qualities of this structure, for it recurs in a number of his other imagined river scenes, including his River Lek with a Rowing Boat and Cattle Ferry, And Liesvelt Castle in the Distance (Sold, London, Sotheby’s, 4 December 2014, lot 136).  

1. J.W. Niemeyer was the first to identify this structure as Liesvelt Castle, drawing comparisons to seventeenth-century prints by Anthonie Waterloo and Abraham Rademaker (see Literature).