Andreas Schelfhout

Sale The Hague (Pulchri), H. Roelofs Heyrmans, 9 April 1902, lot 97, illustrated (as 'Un port de ville en hiver')
Kunsthandel Nezeker, Amsterdam
Hammer Galleries, New York
Sidney Weinberg, Scarsdale, 1953
Barry T. Leidhead, Scarsdale
By descent to a private collection, USA
Richard Green, London, 2000
Private collection, Europe

The artist's panel is providing a stable and secure support with no evidence of any structural intervention in the past. The paint surface has an even varnish layer and retouchings visible under ultra-violet light are limited to areas around the framing edges and in the corners. The painting therefore appears to be in very good and stable condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Andreas Schelfhout's depictions of winter delight are universally admired for their naturalness and tranquil poetry, prompting one critic to exclaim in 1852: 'one could not paint more exquisitely'. By then he was already crowned 'leader' of Dutch romantic landscape painting. Already in 1841, the famous landscapist Barend Cornelis Koekkoek recognised his unique talent, referring to 'the great Schelfhout' in his book Herinneringen en mededeelingen van eenen landschapschilder (1841). Koekkoek admired the graciousness and truthful depiction of nature in Schelfhout's winter scenes, writing: 'would you like to see how beautiful and charming a flat, simple  country scene can be when it bears the stamp of nature, the hallmark of truth ? Then behold the works of our great Schelfhout'.  

Schelfhout was the son of Jean Baptise Schelfhout, a gilder and frame maker from Ghent. He worked in his father's business up to the age of 24. To develop his skills, he served his apprenticeship with the stage designer Johannes Breckenheimer, where he studied for four years. This being the only formal education he received, Schelfhout prided himself in being largely self-taught, 'nature' - as the artist used to say - being his only true teacher. 

His unique talent surfaced for the first time at the exhibition of living masters in 1818, where one of his winter landscapes received much critical acclaim. Inarguably it showed a major talent at work. 'I shall not soon forget his winter', one critic wrote enthusiastically.  It marked the beginning of a long and immensely successful career. Five years later, in 1823, one of his winter landscapes earned Schelfhout a gold medal on an exhibition in Ghent. Numerous favourable reviews testify to the successes he scored with his delicately executed winter landscapes. 

In the 1840s and 1850s, at the pinnacle of his fame, the artist was universally admired for his superb brushwork, carefully assembled compositions and above all the extraordinary beauty of his skies and ice. He came to be known as 'the Claude Lorrain of the winter scene'. It comes as no surprise that such critical praise led to stampedes to his studio, even such dignitaries as Czar Alexander and King Willem II acquiring his paintings (King Willem II owned no less than eight paintings by his hand). The extraordinary technical skill, the strong and limitlessly varied compositions, as well as the natural look of his paintings inspired many of Schelfhout's pupils and contemporaries to follow in his footsteps. Among his most celebrated pupils were N.J. Roosenboom (1805-1880), Charles Leickert (1816-1907), W.J.J. Nuyen (1813-1839) and J.B. Jongkind (1819-1891).

The present lot is an excellent example of Schelfhout's unsurpassed virtuosity. This wonderful painting dates from the period in which the artist celebrated his greatest successes. It shows an impressive, true-to-life rendering of a frozen river near a Dutch town, which is sometimes identified as the town of Zaltbommel or - more likely - the Cunera Tower in Rhenen. Although it looks as if painted on the spot, Schelfhout did not aspire to a topographically accurate representation of an existing situation. Like most 19th century landscapists, he adopted the time-honoured concept of 'electio' from his predecessors, selecting various elements from nature which he assimilated into a new whole. 

'Skaters on a frozen river near a Dutch town', executed in 1848, is an undisputed highlight in the oeuvre of the artist. In this lively, populated scene the artist strikes a perfect balance between his much praised free brush technique and his quest for intricate detail. The bright naturalistic colours and clever distribution of light renders a great clarity to the scene. The treatment of the ice is superb: all the scratches, tears and reflections are depicted with great natural quality, seemingly effortless, sometimes hinting at it with the back of his brush. By employing a low horizon, Schelfhout manages to create a great depth, allowing the eye of the beholder to travel in the distance, far beyond to the skaters at the horizon. The impressive translucent sky strengthens this effect of spaciousness.  

This highly detailed winter landscape displays all the technical skills that characterise Schelfhout's worked-up paintings.  It is a great example of the artist's virtuosity, prompting an art critic to write: 'Only when Schelfhout portrays the winter cloaked in white, with a colourful array of skaters, do we see something attractive in the scene. His is a true depiction of our winter delight' (quoted from De Kunstkronijk, 1841).

ANDREAS SCHELFHOUT
1787 – 1870

Andreas Schelfhout was one of the most important Dutch landscapists of the nineteenth century.  He excelled in exquisitely detailed landscapes of the varied terrain of the Low Countries captured in every effect of light and weather.  His particular gift for snow and ice scenes embellished with picturesque skaters means his winter paintings remain his most sought after subjects.  He also painted summer landscapes, seascapes and beach scenes.  Andreas Schelfhout's style is characterised by bright naturalistic colours and loose, atmospheric brushwork.

Schelfhout was born in The Hague in 1787 and up until the age of twenty-four he worked for his father, Jean Baptiste Schelfhout, a gilder and framemaker from Ghent.  His father recognised his artistic gifts and the young Andreas made his début at the 1811 Living Artists Exhibition in The Hague.  For four years he became an apprentice of the stage designer Johannes Breckenheimer (1772-1856), who encouraged him to sketch both from the Old Masters and the picturesque surrounding countryside. In the early 1800's he began to exhibit the winter landscapes that won him the greatest critical acclaim, marking the beginning of a long and successful career.  His works were accepted at many of the Living Artists Exhibitions held throughout the Low Countries in Amsterdam, Groningen, Haarlem, The Hague, Leiden, Rotterdam and Utrecht.  His work also attracted attention when he exhibited in Belgium at the Antwerp and Brussels Salons.  He was well known in Belgium through frequent correspondence with the secretary of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp.  His Gelderland landscape at sunset seen from a height in the vicinity of Oosterbeek was awarded a gold medal at the Antwerp Salon of 1819.  He was married to Cornelia Gevers who bore him two daughters, Cornelia Maria and Maria Cornelia Margaritha.

Andreas Schelfhout visited Paris in 1830 and was a member of the Pulchri Studio in The Hague.  He also collaborated with other artists including Pieter Gerardus van Os (1776-1839), Joseph Moerenhout (1801-874) and Jacobus Josephus Eeckhout (1793-1861), who added the staffage to his landscapes.  Schelfhout also had an important impact as a teacher of the next generation of artists.  Among his most important pupils were Charles Henri Joseph Leickert (1816-1907), Nicholaas Johannes Roosenboom (1805-1880) and Willem Troost (1812-1893.)  He also exerted an important influence on Johan Barthold Jongkind (1819-1891), one of the major forerunners of the Impressionists.

The work of Andreas Schelfhout is represented in many museums including the Amsterdams Historisch Museum, the Stedelijk Museum, the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, the Teylers Museum, Haarlem, the Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, the Dordrechts Museum and the Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam.