Circle of Gottfried Wals

"The following condition report has been provided by Henry Gentle, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The copper panels are in good condition. Some raised but stable paint to the 'shepherd' panel. There are minor restored paint losses to both paintings, the 'shepherd' panel suffering more. The 'river' panel has compromised glazes in the foreground. The varnishes on both are discoloured."
"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."

On the basis of photographs, Prof. Marcel G. Roethlisberger finds an attribution to Wals acceptable, while Dr. Anke Repp-Eckert thinks these works are more likely to have been painted by an artist in his immediate circle in Rome. The motif of a clump of trees overhanging a river, seen in the first picture, is to be found in several of Wals' pictures and in his only etching; the motif of a ruined Roman wall with an arch leading to a round tower is to be found in a painting by Wals in a Swiss private collection.¹ Similar ruined Roman circular temples are to be found in two paintings by Wals: one whose whereabouts are unknown; and another in the Heller collection, Rotterdam.²

1. See A. Repp, Goffredo Wals. Zur Landschaftsmalerei zwischen Adam Elsheimer und Claude Lorrain, Cologne 1985, pp. 51-3, cat. no. 1, reproduced fig. 1, and pp. 81-3, cat. no. 18, reproduced fig. 18.
2. op.cit., p. 73, cat. no. 10, reproduced fig. 10, and pp. 83-4, cat. no. 19, reproduced fig. 19.