Jan Lievens

The Rev. John Sanford (1777-1855),
by inheritance to his daughter, Anna Horatia Caroline Sanford, who married Frederick Henry Paul Methuen (1818-1891), later 2nd Lord Methuen,
by descent in the Methuen family, Corsham Court, Wiltshire, until
sale, Amsterdam, Sotheby Mak van Waay, 15 November 1983, lot 230,
purchased at that sale by John and Alice Steiner,
by descent to the present owner

H. Schneider, rev. R.E.O. Ekkart, Jan Lievens, Amsterdam 1973, p. 391, no. SZ 437;
W. Sumowski, Drawings of the Rembrandt School, vol. 7, New York 1983, no. 1725^x

Laid down. A small repaired tear at the upper left margin. Light staining around the edges of the sheet. A gray/brown stain/splash located near the upper margin just left of center. Surface dirt. Pen and brown ink remains strong. Sold in a gilded frame.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Lievens was one of the most accomplished Dutch landscape draughtsmen of the 17^th century.  Though his early career was entwined with that of Rembrandt, the landscape drawings that he produced following his return to Amsterdam in 1644 have no obvious stylistic connection with those of his illustrious contemporary, despite the fact that the two artists were once again working side by side in the same city.  Here, we have a characteristic example of one of Lievens’ panoramic landscapes which, despite being executed almost exclusively in pen, with little or no wash, are hugely atmospheric.  In the breadth of the view, the drawing is, as Sumowski noted (loc. cit.), reminiscent of another panoramic landscape in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.  The broad river seen in the distance may well be the lower Rhine, suggesting that the drawing, which surely records a real location, was perhaps made not far from Arnhem, in the area near the castle at Doorwerth, where Lievens also made other drawings.¹  Lievens made similar landscape drawings from the mid 1640s until at least the early 1660s, and no clear basis has yet been established for any more precise dating.²   

For a summary of the formation and history of the Methuen collection of Old Master Drawings at Corsham Court, see the introduction to the sale catalogue, London, Sotheby's, 3 July 1996.

1.  P. Schatborn, Rembrandt and his Circle, drawings in the Frits Lugt Collection, 2 vols., Paris 2010, vol. I, pp. 293-5, no. 119, reproduced vol. II 

2.  G. Rubinstein, ‘The Drawings of Jan Lievens,’ in Jan Lievens, A Dutch Master Rediscovered, exh. cat., Washington, National Gallery of Art, Milwaukee Art Museum, and Amsterdam, Rembrandthuis, 2008-9, pp. 73-76