Ludolf Backhuysen

Anonymous Sale ('The Property of a Private Collector'), Amsterdam, Sotheby's, 13 May 2003, lot 38;

With Richard Green, London;

From whom acquired by the present owners.

The panel is uncradled and perfectly flat. The paint surface has recently been cleaned and restored and is in beautiful condition throughout. The only repairs are 3 minor old touched out losses in the upper centre and an oblique old scratch that measures 5 cm in length, just to the left in the sky by the boat in the foreground. There is some scattered tiny, meticulous touching out along the wood grain. The restoration is very well carried out, the varnish remains clear and even and the picture requires no further attention.
"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."

Very few penschilderij by Backhuysen are known, and all but one date from early in his career to around 1655–58. In addition to the present panel, four other larger works are so far recorded: one of The Shipyard of the Admiralty, Amsterdam, dated 1657 and now in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam; a Shipping in a calm, in the Nederlands Scheepvart Museum;¹ a portrait of the ship Esperance, of 1656, formerly with Rob Kattenburg, Amsterdam in 1991; and a slightly later and larger panel of around 1665 in the Koninklijk College Zeemanshoop in Amsterdam.² A comparable drawing, in black ink on vellum, in which a similar tall masted man-of-war is seen from the stern, was sold New York, Sotheby's, 16 January 1985, lot 63, and is likewise dated by de Beer to around 1655.³ The painstaking and laborious technique required for the production of penschilderij probably explains the relative rarity of fine examples. Such works were expensive to produce and presumably could mostly only be painted upon commission. A drawing in pen and ink, and often with brush as well, was made upon a neutral gesso ground with a layer of lead white upon a prepared panel or canvas. The ground required several months for drying before the drawing itself could be made. The technique was first used in marine painting by Willem van de Velde the Elder (1611–1693), who was to become the outstanding exponent of the style.

 

1. Reproduced in G. De Beer, Ludolf Backhuysen (1630–1708). Sein Leben und Werk, Zwolle 2002, p. 33, fig. 25 and p. 222, fig. 288.
2. Panel, 75 by 140 cm. Exhibited Amsterdam, Nederlands Scheepvarart Museum, Ludolf Backhuizen, schyfmeester, teykeneaer, schilder, 1985, no. 3.
3. De Beer, op. cit., 2002, p. 154, fig. 190.