- 36
Adriaen Pietersz. van de Venne Delft circa 1589 - 1662 The Hague
Description
- Adriaen Pietersz. van de Venne
- interior of a circus tent, with a man performing on a vaulting horse, a female trapeze artist and various other performing humans and monkeys
- signed and dated, lower right: AD: V: Venne. 1628
- Pen and brown and black ink and grey wash, within broad black framing lines. Indented for transfer
Provenance
Pieter van den Brande or Johan Pieter van den Brande, Middelburg;
by descent to E.C. Baron van Pallandt, his sale, Amsterdam, Mak van Waay, 26 September 1972, lot 370 (purchased by the present owner)
Literature
Laurens J. Bol, Adriaen van de Venne, Doornspijk 1989, pp.132-3, illus. fig. 126
Catalogue Note
This immensely lively and amusing drawing is the study, in reverse, for the print on page 69 of the 1635 publication Tafereel van de Belacchende Werelt ("Tableau of the Ridiculous World"). Most of van de Venne's designs for book illustrations (such as the four drawings in the next two lots) were made to accompany texts by other authors, notably Jacob Cats, but in this case the text was a long narrative verse by van de Venne himself. It describes the escapades of "a country gallant named Tamme Lubbert," and a young woman called Fijtje Goris whom he meets on his way to visit the kermis in The Hague; the text of this humorous poem was illustrated with nine prints after van de Venne's own designs. In the present composition, we see Tamme and Fijtje in the foreground, enraptured by the magnificent scene before them: the interior of a circus tent, with all manner of performers, musicians and enthusiastic onlookers, depicted in great detail and with the immensely lively characterisation that is so typical of van de Venne.
This is one of a group of fourteen drawings by van de Venne, which emerged in 1972 from the van Pallandt collection (see also the following two lots, and lot 65). Having been kept in an album, in the possession of one family since the 18th century, these drawings have remained in spectacularly fresh condition. Another excellent drawing from this group, also the design for one of the illustrations to Tafereel van de Belacchende Werelt, is in the Abrams Collection (see William W. Robinson, Bruegel to Rembrandt. Dutch and Flemish Drawings from the Maida and George Abrams Collection, exh.cat., London, British Museum, et al., 2002-3, cat.39), while another drawing with the same provenance and of similar quality, illustrating Cats' Self-strijt, was sold, in these Rooms, 5 November 2002, lot 34.
For further information on the van Pallandt provenance, see the note to lot 65 in the present sale.