Abel Grimmer

With Pieter de Boer, 1945;
Dr. Hans Wetzlar, Amsterdam, by 1952.

Zurich, Kunsthaus, Unbekannte Schönheit, 1956, no. 126 (reproduced in the catalogue fig. 15);
Laren, 1963, no. 91.

 

 

Wetzlar cat., 1952, p. 13, no. 38, reproduced;          
R. de Bertier de Sauvigny, Jacob et Abel Grimmer, Brussels 1991, p. 117, under no. 7, and p. 287, no. 6.

 

 

"The following condition report has been provided by Henry Gentle, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The oak panel has a central vertical join, and the left hand section is also divided horizontally. Both these joins have been restored. The paint is raised and unstable with visible blistering of the paint. There are restored losses to all of the edges and there are particular visible restored losses to the sky and in the foreground. Many of the delicate scumbles in the more thinly painted areas have been abraded and these areas have been strengthened, e.g. the foreground, the slanted roof and the buildings at the centre of the composition. There are areas that have escaped injudicious cleaning and here the details are intact and the quality is good. Removing the discoloured varnish would improve the tonality. Offered in a gilt and painted wood frame, in good condition."
"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."

The subject of an inundated village with peasants rescuing cattle from the floods is unusual, though such occurences must have been common.  A comparable flooded scene, by Jacob Grimmer, was with Paul Larsen, London, 1967.¹ 

This is probably one of the four seasons - presumably Autumn.  The handling of the staffage recalls Jacob Grimmer's Autumn, formerly with De Jonckheere, Paris.² 

1.  See Bertier de Sauvigny, under literature, p. 117, no. 7.
2.  Idem,  pp. 108-9, no. 10, reproduced p. 112, fig. 55.