Philips Wouwerman

Mr. Barez, Paris;
Ange-Laurent la Live de Jully (1725-1779), Paris:
His sale, Paris, Remy, 2-14 May 1770, lot 16, where bought with pendant for 4,001 Francs by Donjeu;
Mr. Dubois:
His sale, Paris, Lebrun, 31 March 1784, lot 41, where bought with pendant for 7,000 Francs by Verrier;
Mr Morel:
His sale and others, Paris, Lebrun, 3 May 1786, lot 64, with pendant (according to the catalogue the sale was postponed from 19 April 1786);
Mrs Bentley, London;
By her Executors sold, London, Christie's, 28 June 1879, for £236 to Lesser;
Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 27 May 1882, to Corbett;
Arthur Seymour;
By whom sold, London, Christie's, 4 July 1896, for £372. 15s to Colnaghi:
with P. & D. Colnaghi, London;
By whom sold on 13 August 1896 for £480 to Sedelmeyer;
With Charles Sedelmeyer, Paris;
By whom sold on 7 March 1903 for £480 to Gates;
John W. Gates, New York;
Thence by descent until sold, New York, Christie's, 13 January 1987, lot 130:
With Heide Hübner, Würzburg, 1987;
From whom acquired by the late husband of the present owner.

Paris, Sedelmeyer, 1897;
Paris, Sedelmeyer, 1901.

J. Smith, A Catalogue Raisonné..., vol. I, London 1829, p. 224, no. 79;
C. Blanc, Histoire des peintres de toutes les écoles, Paris 1861-1876, vol. I, p. 165;
C. Sedelmeyer, Catalogue of the Fourth series of 100 Paintings by Old Masters, Paris 1897, no. 47, reproduced;
C. Hofstede de Groot, A Catalogue Raisonné..., vol II, London 1909, p. 521, no. 822;
B. Schumacher, Philips Wouwerman (1619-1668), vol. 1, p.284, no. A284, reproduced vol. 2, plate 265.

ENGRAVED
By Pierre-Francois Beaumont (1719-1769) entitled "Le Défile de Cavalerie".

The following condition report is provided by Rebecca Gregg, who is an external expert and not an employee of Sotheby's. The single member oak panel is in very good condition. The planar alignment is good with no distortions. The panel has additional batons attached to each edge. There are two handwritten labels attached to the reverse. The paint layers appear in good condition. There are no significant damages in evidence and the adhesion between the paint and ground layers and the support appears good. There is a small scratch to the varnish and upper layers of paint in the upper left quadrant 7.5cm from the left edge, and 1.5cm from the top. There are also minor scuffs along the lower edge, most probably due to movement within the frame. The paint is thinly painted directly onto the wooden panel, utilizing the warm colour of the wood and this thinness has resulted in numerous small retouchings along the lines of the grain scattered throughout the composition. These are most noticeable in the sky and along the upper left edge and as they appear to be distinct brushstrokes it is probable that these partially cover original paint. There is a localized area above the sky line to the right which could have been abraded during a previous cleaning campaign, as this area has been relatively thickly over-painted. However, it could also have been applied to disguise the thin paint layers becoming more translucent as they age. It is highly likely that in this instance the over-paint present is excessive and that original paint has been covered. The signature appears sound. There is a slightly discoloured varnish layer present that fluoresces strongly under ultra violet examination. There is a light layer of surface dirt and dust present. The painting was examined in the frame.
"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."

This is a characteristic atmospheric late Wouwerman, with a smoky sky, painted in warm tones of pink, yellow, grey and brown.  Birgit Schumacher dates it circa 1665.

Like many of Wouwermans' best pictures, this was in a series of collections in Paris in the latter part of the 18th Century, and in particular it formed part of the celebrated cabinet of Lalive de Jully, where it was engraved by Beaumont.  Lalive de Jully (1724-1779) was a financier and a leading collector of his day, who patronized Greuze.  Greuze's portrait of him is in the Kress collection in The National Gallery of Art, Washington.