Karel Du Jardin

Gustaf Adolf Sparre (1746-1794; his 1794 inventory no. 28);
Thence by descent until sold, London, Sotheby's, 5 December 2007, lot 15.

Kristianstad, Kristianstads Museum, Ur Gustav Adolf Sparres konstamling på Wanås, 12 February - 6 March1977, no. 10.

O. Granberg, Catalogue raisonné des Tableaux dans les collections privées de la Suède, 1885-6, no. 30;
G. Göthe, Tafelsamlingen pa Wanås, Stockholm 1895, p. 19, no. 33;
O. Granberg, Inventaire Générale des Trésors d'Art... en Suède, vol. II, Stockholm 1912, no. 154;
C. Hofstede de Groot, Beschreibandes und Kritisches Verzeichnis......, vol. IX, Esslingen/Paris 1926, pp. 348-9, no. 205 (as signature not certain);
I. Hasselgren, Konstsamlaren Gustaf Adolf Sparre 1746-1794, Gothenburg 1974, pp. 115, 127, reproduced p. 177;
F. Robinson, Seventeenth Century Dutch Drawings from American Collections, exhibition catalogue, Washington etc., 1977, p. 67, under no. 64;
P. Schatborn, Dutch Figure Drawings from the seventeenth century, exhibition catalogue, The Hague 1981, p. 134, under no. 38;
W.W. Robinson, Seventeenth Century Dutch Drawings.  A Selection from the Maida and George Abrams Collection, exhibition catalogue, Amsterdam etc. 1991, p. 164, under no. 73;
J.M. Killian, The Paintings of Karel du Jardin 1626-1678.  Catalogue Raisonné, Amsterdam 2005, p. 229, no. B10, reproduced plate 138, under Problematic Attributions (Killian has subsequently confirmed the attribution to Dujardin, see catalogue note).

The colours are richer and stronger than the catalogue illustration suggests.The painting has recently been cleaned, relined and restored and is in very good overall condition. Inspection under ultra violet light reveals no major damages. The largest repairs are a small L-shaped 3 x 4 cm tear in the upper right hand corner in the sky and a very small damage 2 x 2 cm to its left, and a vertical 6 cm tear in the foliage just to the right of the bridge. Apart from this restoration is confined to local retouchings: a few scattered touchings out in the sky at left, a few underneath the arch of the bridge and in the lower right hand corner and centre of the bottom edge. The paler part of the stream under the bridge fluoresces under light and may have a light wash over it. The great majority of the picture, including most of the sky and nearly every part of the landscape and the figures is very well preserved and intact. The restoration is well carried out and not visibel to the naked eye. The varnish is clear and evena and the painting will require no further attention. Offered with an ebonised wood frame inthe Dutch style.
"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."

This picture has been little seen by scholars until very recently.  Hofstede de Groot saw it in the original and considered it to be by Dujardin, although he was not sure about the signature, which was previously partly concealed by its old Sparre frame, and followed Granberg's mistranscription of it as Karel de Jardin.  Horst Gerson also thought it to be by Dujardin.  Judging it from an old photograph, Jennifer Kilian listed it under Problematic Attributions in her catalogue raisonné, but on the basis of a transparency, has kindly confirmed that it is in her view an authentic work from the mid-1650s.

Large scale Italianate landscapes on canvas by Dujardin are scarce.  The present example is notably close in style and handling to another such work, also depicting herders and animals fording a river, in the collection of the Duke of Sutherland at Mertoun in Roxburghshire.¹  The date on the Sutherland picture is given as 1654, but has also been read as 1651 & 1657.

Dujardin used a red chalk drawing now in Copenhagen for the figure of a boy facing away from us, wading across the stream and holding his shirt clear of the water (see fig. 1).²  The drawing was presumably made from life, and the model served for three other similar red chalk drawings, in which he is similarly dressed in a jerkin.  The Copenhagen drawing shows him full length, with his legs and feet visible, but Dujardin must have intended him for a painting such as the present one, because the action of raising his shirt only makes sense in this context.


1.  See Kilian under Literature, pp. 141-2, no. 23, reproduced p. 333, plate 20.
2.  Red chalk, 233 by 134 mm.; Copenhagen, Statens Museum for Kunst, inv. no. 9352; see P. Schatborn and both F. and W.W. Robinson under Literature.