Philips Wouwerman

M. Debrousse, Paris;
Augusto Caraceni, Rome, 1962;
With Newhouse Galleries, New York;
From whom purchased by Mrs. Ernestine R. Avery and R. Stanton Avery;
By whose Estates sold, New York, Christie's, May 22, 1998, lot 171;
Anonymous sale ("The Property of an East Coast Collector"), New York, Christie's, January 26, 2001, lot 11.

B. Schumacher, Philips Wouwerman (1619-1668), The Horse Painter of the Golden Age, Doornspijk 2006, Vol. I, p. 322, cat. no. A383, Vol. II, reproduced Plate 354 (as circa 1645).

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting is in very good and recently restored condition and should be hung as is. The reverse of the panel is un-reinforced and the panel and paint layer are in lovely condition. The paint layer is clean and there are barely any, if any at all, retouches. There has been no abrasion and the varnish has softened slightly. If a slightly fresher varnish were to be applied, the picture would seem to be in beautiful 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."

Birgit Schumacher dates this work to circa 1645, relatively early in Wouwerman's career and a period when he was strongly influenced, both in style and subject matter, by Pieter van Laer.  Van Laer, one of the group of mostly Dutch artists working in Rome known as the Bamboccianti, had returned to Haarlem in 1638.  Arnold Houbraken related that, following the death of van Laer, Wouwerman was able to obtain a cache of his sketches and studies.¹  In the present painting, the rendering of the figures, seen from a low vantage point, and the commonplace subject of a group of peasants enjoying a card game show the marked influence of the Bambocciesque paintings of van Laer.

A copy of this composition by Philip's brother, Jan Wouwerman, is in the collection of the Prince of Liechtenstien, Vaduz.²

 

1.  A. Houbraken, De groote schouburgh, (1718-21). Vol. II, p. 71.
2.   See R. Baumstark, Masterpieces from the Collection of the Princes of Liechtenstein, 1980, p. 231, reproduced figure 103.