- 130
Cornelis van Poelenburgh Utrecht circa 1593 - 1676
Description
- Cornelis van Poelenburgh
- a southern landscape with figures dancing before a set of ruins, a town beyond
- signed with initials on a rock lower centre: c p and inscribed on the reverse with an old collector's mark
- oil on panel, in a carved and gilt wood frame
Provenance
Anonymous sale, New York, Sotheby's, 28 January 2000, lot 33, for $65,000, when purchased by the present owner.
Catalogue Note
This painting is typical of the Italianate landscapes widely produced by Cornelis van Poelenburgh following his return to Utrecht from Rome in April 1627. Unlike the artist's early works during his sojourn in the Eternal City (1617-26), which are indebted to the work of Paul Bril and Filippo Napoletano, the present work is painted in his own idiosyncratic style which endured in Utrecht for the remainder of the 17th century. The tonality of the palette has evolved beyond the greyish tones of his youthful period and his figures are more rounded. The staffage is rendered in thick, opaque pigments, providing a stark contrast to the translucent glazes of the landscape. The use of the artist's initials to sign his works was a practice adopted by Poelenburgh largely following his return to the north, although the existence of only three dated works after 1626, along with the lack of any clear stylistic development, makes a chronology for these works almost impossible to establish.
The coat-of-arms on the wax seal on the reverse of the panel are probably those of Campou, of Provence.