JAN VERKADE | Herinnering (Remembering)

Oil on canvas laid on panel

Sale: Christie's, Amsterdam, 4th December 2001, lot 247
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

The canvas appears to be lined and is tacked to a panel intermittently along all four edges. Examination under UV light reveals lines of retouching along the upper and right edges corresponding to craquelure and frame rubbing. There are two further spots of retouching: one to the sitter's neck and one to the middle tree in the left part of the composition. There are paint losses along all four extreme edges relating to frame abrasion which are not visible when framed. This work appears to be in overall good condition.
"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."

Jan Verkade was one of the leading members of the Nabis group, a collective of artists active from 1888 including Paul Gauguin and Paul Sérusier who studied at the Académie Julian, and whose name derived from the Hebrew translation of ‘prophet’. These artists sought to express spiritual and abstract ideals within their work through a new style of decorative painting which championed elegance of line and form alongside strong washes of colour, pioneering a highly distinctive creative language. Dutch born Verkade moved to Paris in early 1891, where he first met Sérusier and Gauguin, and began to share a studio on occasion with Sérusier. In Paris, Verkade also met Mogens Ballin, the Dutch painter and silver-smith; the two artists were to embark on travels around Europe together and shared an intense interest in Catholicism, to which both converted shortly afterwards. Herinnereng, Fiesole Reminiscence (Remembering, Fiesole Reminiscence) was painted during a journey Ballin and Verkade made together to Italy in 1893, during which they visited Florence, Siena and Pisa as well as Rome; Sérusier was also in Florence during this time. Ballin returned to Denmark in May 1893 but Verkade was so enamoured of the way of life he found in Fiesole that he chose to remain there for several months on his own, undertaking a form of monastic retreat. The female figure within the present work, reminiscent of Gauguin's Breton works, is framed against a background of gently rolling green hills and imbued with an extraordinary sense of serenity and a meditative calm, indicative, perhaps, of the tranquillity Verkade was able to find during his time in Fiesole.



We would like to thank Caroline Boyle-Turner for her assistance in the cataloguing of this lot.