Ludolf Bakhuizen Emden 1630 - 1708 Amsterdam

With Vermunt, Berlin, as Berckheyde ;
With Kunsthandel St. Lucas, The Hague, 1942, as Jacob Ochtervelt or Ludolf Bakhuizen

B. Broos, R. Vorstman, W. van de Watering, Ludolf Backhuizen 1631 – 1708, schryfmeester – teyckenaer – schilder, exhibition catalogue, Amsterdam, 1985, p. 115, under no. T 31.

Variously attributed to Gerrit Berckheyde, Jacob Ochtervelt and Ludolf Bakhuizen in the past, the present picture was first published as by Ludolf Bakhuizen by B. Broos in 1985 (see Literature). This attribution has since found general acceptance and has recently been confirmed by Dr. Gerlinde de Beer in a certificate dated 16 April 2003 and by Fred G. Meijer in a letter of 7 April 2006, both after inspecting the original. 

Ben Broos connected this picture with a drawing, also formerly attributed to Berckheyde in the Fondation Custodia, Paris (inv. no. 4367), which he reattributed to Bakhuizen on the basis of a comparison with a signed drawing in the British Museum, and then identified it as the probable preliminary study (Idem, p. 115, reproduced fig. T 31 – a).

As a rare city view, this picture is exceptional in Bakhuizen’s oeuvre. However, it bears some typical Bakhuizen characteristics, such as the stage-like setting of the figures. Bakhuizen frequently used this device throughout his oeuvre, most notably in pictures such as The Arrival of King William III at Oranjepolder, signed and dated 1692, in the Mauritshuis, The Hague (inv. no. 6), for which the preliminary study is at Windsor Castle; the Allegory of the City of Amsterdam as Centre of Trade and Commerce, of circa 1700, signed, and The Bakhuizen – de Hooghe family on the Mosselsteiger on the Y, Amsterdam, signed and dated 1702, both in the Amsterdam Historisch Museum (Idem, p. 55, 62, 66, nos. S 29, S 38, 40, all reproduced).

Furthermore the figures fit entirely in Bakhuizen's style: the group of the mother and child in the left foreground and the dogs are a similar group to those in The Arrival of King William III; the workmen in the background recall those unloading cargo from a ship seen in the background in that same picture; the facial expressions of the maid and the knife grinder are best to be compared with some of Bakhuizen's rare portraits : the pendant portrait of himself and his wife Anna de Hooghe, of circa 1685, in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam (inv. nos. A2186, A2187) and of Petrus Francius of 1688, oil on canvas, 215 x 156 cm, in the collection of the University of Amsterdam (Idem,  pp. 51-2, nos. S 25 & S 26, both reproduced).

The moderate colour scheme was also used in the picture of A View in Amsterdam with soldiers embarking near the Montelbaanstoren, signed and dated 1685, oil on canvas, 109 x 159, in the Wellington Museum, Apsley House (Idem, p. 50, no S 24, reproduced). A similar date of execution for the present picture of circa 1685/ 90 seems therefore likely.

The preliminary study allows us to reconstruct the topography in the picture, since it depicts the tower of the Westerkerk and the bridge over the Leliegracht in the background on the right. These elements were omitted in the final picture. The view is thus of the northern part of the Keizersgracht looking towards the South, However not all the buildings are realistic features. As pointed out by Broos, the mansion with classic portico on the left also appears in the drawing in the British Museum and is taken from fantasy.   

Dr. Gerlinde de Beer does not agree with the drawing's attribution to Bakhuizen. She attributes it to Johannes Lingelbach (1622 – 1674), with whom Bakhuizen was closely connected. Both painters originated from Germany and lived close to each other on the Rozengracht. Her hypothesis is that after the death of Lingelbach, Bakhuizen might have tried to fill the gap in the market, as Lingelbach was the foremost painter of city views in the second quarter of the 17^th century. This venture, however, was short lived, as Bakhuizen rapidly rose to fame with the type of marine painting he is now most known for.

His fame was acknowledged by his appointment, together with Michiel van Musscher in 1699 as Director of the Stadskunstkamer, located on the second floor of the City Hall. This institution was to stimulate and facilitate the art scene in Amsterdam, in order to further Amsterdam´s reputation as the art city of Europe. This was the start for the celebration of the city and its places in prints, drawings, pictures etc, which in the 18^th century was to become the most popular genre. The present picture foreshadows what was yet to come.