Lot 284
  • 284

Jan Josefsz van Goyen

Estimate
150,000 - 200,000 USD
bidding is closed

Description

  • River landscape with the Pellekussenpoort, near Utrecht
  • signed on the row boat lower right and dated: VG164 (0 or 6)
  • oil on panel
  • 49.9 x 69.3 cm.

Provenance

Graf von Eltz collection;
Sale, Mayence, 17 May 1785, lot 803;
Possibly von Lobkowicz collection;
Thierry Brunet de l'Argentière, Nice;
By whom sold, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 24 May 1923, lot 53;
Armand Esders, Paris;
His deceased sale, Paris Hôtel Drouot, 28 May 1941, lot 11;
Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 26 February 1958, lot 154;
Barlow collection, London;
Count Huchet de Quénetain, Paris;
With Dr. A. Wief Fine Art, Amsterdam;
From whom purchased by the present collector. 

Exhibited

Calais, Musée de Calais; Musée de Saint Omer; Amiens, Musée de Picardie à Amiens, La mer dans la peinture ancienne, 27 June-30 November 1957, no. 20.

Literature

H.-U. Beck, Jan van Goyen 1596-1656, Amsterdam 1973, vol. II, p. 293, cat. no. 640.

Condition

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 work on panel has an old cradle on the reverse. The paint is flat and the paint layer is stable. The restoration is still very attractive. While the work may be slightly dirty at present, it certainly can be hung in its current condition. Under ultraviolet light, one can see retouches across the middle of the sky addressing an original panel join and retouches in the upper right, particularly in the upper sky, addressing some slight weakness and evidence of the darker priming to the wood panel. The architecture, marine life and water are all very healthy.
"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."

Catalogue Note

The Pellekussenpoort, a city gate of Utrecht, was a popular subject with painters such as Salomon van Ruysdael and Jan van Goyen, who adapted it on many occasions for inclusion in river landscapes. 

This picture was painted during one of van Goyen's most tonal phases. In contrast to the muted greens that he used in earlier phases of experimentation with tonal painting, he has here, as in other works of this period, used tones of brown, strengthened with orange and yellow. He permits only very muted greens to occur in foliage and other parts.