- 275
Adriaen van de Velde Amsterdam 1636 - 1672
Description
- Adriaen van de Velde
- A dairy-maid milking a cow at the foot of a tree, a boy and a spaniel looking on
- signed and dated lower centre: A.V.Velde.f.1666(?) (A and 66 strengthened)
- oil on canvas
Provenance
With John Mitchell & Son, London, 1964;
Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 11 July 1973, lot 19;
Acquired there by Dr. Anton C.R. Dreesmann (1923-2001), his inv. no. A-4;
Sold from his Estate ("The Dr. Anton C.R. Dreesmann Collection"), London, Christie's, 17 April 2002, lot 549 (for £22,000), where acquired by the present owner.
Catalogue Note
This is a relatively late work by Adriaen van de Velde, who was the younger brother of the marine-painter Willem van de Velde. He was one of the group of painters known as the 'Dutch Italianates', comprising Karel Dujardin, Nicolaes Berchem and Jan Asselijn among others. Van de Velde never actually travelled to Italy but his landscapes are imbued with a soft southern light and his warm palette has much in common with those in the works of his contemporaries who did indeed travel South.
A red chalk preparatory drawing for the figure of the boy lower right in this composition, formerly attributed to Dujardin but correctly re-assigned to Van de Velde, was also in the Dreesmann Collection and included in the 2002 sale of his collection (lot 684).