HENDRICK JACOBSZ. DUBBELS | Shipping scene in a calm at sunset, with figures on the shore in the foreground

Earl De La Warr, Sussex;
Charles Sedelmeyer, Paris (as Jan van de Cappelle), by 1899;
Adolphe Schloss, Paris, by 1910, and thence by descent to his heirs;
Confiscated by Nazi forces 1943 (reference Schloss 38);
Acquired for the Linz Museum (as Jan van de Cappelle, ‘Stille See’);
Stored for the above at the Führerbau Munich (Crate #7);
Recovered in Germany and restituted to the Schloss family in 1977;
With Otto Naumann, New York;
There acquired by the present collector in 1986. 

The Fifth Hundred of Paintings by Old Masters belonging to the Sedelmeyer Gallery, 1899, p. 8, cat. no. 2, reproduced p. 9 (as Jan van de Cappelle);
G. Hofstede de Groot, A Catalogue Raisonne of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century, 1923, vol. VII, p. 173, cat. no. 62 (as Jan van de Cappelle);
Weltkunst, 15 March 1952, p. 11, reproduced;
U. Middendorf, Hendrik Jacobsz. Dubbels, 1989, pp. 33, 104, cat. no. 25, reproduced.

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 has been restored and should be hung in its current state. The fine piece of linen has an old English lining. The surface is attractive. There is no abrasion to the paint layer and very few retouches at all. These are clearly visible under ultraviolet light. They are in a few cracks in the upper left and in a couple of cracks in the upper center. There is a restored loss in the rolled sail of the boat. There are a few tiny dots in the hulls of the vessels on the right, and one group of retouches in the center of the left edge in the sky. The condition is otherwise particularly good, showing no weakness in any of the rigging or details of the boats or foreground.
"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."

In this elegant painting of a calm coastline at sunset, Dubbels masterfully depicts the warmth of the sunlight over a serene scene of fishermen coming to shore and packing up for the day. The water is still a cool blue, though the sun's rays illuminate a particularly beautiful reflection of the boats on its glass-like surface.  The clouds are full but not threatening, and just a few figures are shown, looking tired and moving slowly as they finish their day. 

Hendrick Dubbels spent his entire career in Amsterdam, painting marines as well as some winter scenes.  Middendorf dates the present painting to 1653-57 (see Literature), early in the artist's career, when he was creating his most magnificent work.  At the time he was still very much influenced by the marine paintings of Jan van de Cappelle, having come into contact with the artist when he was an apprentice to Simon de Vlieger, in the early 1650s.  Indeed, the work was once given to Jan de Cappelle (see Provenance) and still bears the monogram of the older artist.