Joost Cornelisz. Droochsloot

Anonymous sale, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 10 Febuary 1899, lots 25 and 26;

Sarah Wyman Whitman (1842–1904), Maine;

By whom bequeathed to The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 1904;

By whom sold, New York, Christie's, 14 January 1993, lots 35 and 36;

With Xaver Scheidwimmer, Munich, from whom acquired by the present owner.

Hartford, Connecticut, Wadsworth Atheneum, Life in Seventeenth Century Holland, 21 November 1950 – 14 January 1951, no. 6, Summer Landscape only (lent by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, as A View of the Hague, where the church in the centre is identified as the Grote or Sint-Jacobskerk, and the twin towers in the right background as the Binnenhof).

C. C. Cunningham, Life in seventeenth century Holland: views, vistas, pastimes, pantomimes, portraits, peep shows, exhibition catalogue, Hartford 1950, p. 8, cat. no. 6;

J. Walsh, Jr. and C. P. Schneider, 'Little Known Dutch Paintings in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston', in Apollo, December 1979, p. 498, reproduced p. 503, plate IV and V;

A. R. Murphy, European Paintings in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 1985, p. 85, reproduced;

P. C. Sutton, Dutch Art in America, Washington D.C. 1986, p. 335. 

The following condition report is provided by Hamish Dewar who is an external specialist and not an employee of Sotheby's: Structural Condition The pair of panels have both been cradled and appear structurally sound and secure. Paint Surface The paint surfaces have reasonably even varnish layers and inspection under ultra violet light shows extensive retouchings covering what appear to be old flake losses in the sky of the "Winter Landscape" with smaller retouchings in the sky of the "Summer Landscape". Both panels have retouchings covering horizontal central panel joins or splits which are approximately 21 cm below the upper horizontal framing edges. There is another repaired split running across the sky of the "Summer Landscape", approximately 10 cm below the upper horizontal framing edge. There are considerably less retouchings on the details of the figures and buildings in the foregrounds, the fine details of which appear to be far better preserved. There are inpainted flake losses along the lower horizontal edge of the "Summer Landscape" and other scattered retouchings on both paintings. Summary The paintings therefore appear to now be in stable condition and the extent of retouchings applied in the past should be noted.
"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 pair of paintings date from early in Drooghsloot's career. Although there is no record of his having travelled  far from his native Utrecht, they show clearly that he was up to date with the latest developments in Dutch landscape painting elsewhere, for example in Haarlem, where artists such as Esaias van de Velde and his pupil Jan van Goyen were experimenting with a lowered horizon and effective recession in their broad landscapes. The present pair is particularly reminiscent of the paired Winter and Summer landscapes that Jan van Goyen was painting from 1623 to 1625. The elegant figures of wealthy citizens enjoying both seasons outside their towns are on the other hand more reminiscent of Van de Velde. While Drooghsloot probably saw contemporary paintings by these and other artists, he certainly would have encountered prints.

Further evidence for at least fairly detailed topographical knowledge of The Hague by the artist, if not a visit there, is provided by the subject of Summer, which depicts the city from the south-west. The church in the centre is the Grotekerk or Sint Jacobskerk with its highly distinctive interrupted nave roof; the two towers of the Binnenhof are seen beyond it; and the church to the left of the left windmill is the Kloosterkerk on the Lange Voorhout.  The buildings in Winter are probably largely invented, but the ruined brick gateway to the left is the Gildpoort in Drooghsloot's native Utrecht.  We are most grateful to Laurens Schoemaker at the RKD in The Hague for his help in identifying the topography.