- 45
Jan Wijnants Adriaen van de Velde Haarlem 1632 - 1684 Amsterdam Amsterdam 1636 - 1672
Estimate
2,000,000 - 3,000,000 USD
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Description
- Jan Wijnants
- Wooded evening landscape with a hunter and his dogs, another hunter on Horseback conversing with a peasant, a fishermen and a falconer carrying a hoop of falcons on a path, a wagon and other figures by a lake beyond
- signed with initials lower left: J. W.
- oil on canvas
- 59 7/8 by 75 1/4 in.; 152 cm by 191.1 cm
Provenance
Graf von Stadion, Vienna;
Jean Baptiste Baron Puthon (1773-1839), Vienna;
His deceased sale, Vienna, Artaria & Co, 1840;
There acquired by E. Netscher, Rotterdam:
From whom acquired by Leonardus Pieter Klerk de Reus, The Hague, for 600 I., by 1842;
Baron Anselm von Rothschild (1803-1874), Frankfurt-am-Main and Vienna (acquired from the above in 1845 for about 600 l. through the agency of Moritz Daniel Oppenheim and the dealer E. Netscher as part of a group of 35 paintings);
Thence by descent to Baron Nathaniel von Rothschild (1836-1905), Vienna, until at least 1903;
Thence by inheritance to his brother, Baron Albert von Rothschild (1844-1911), 1905;
Thence by descent to Baron Alphonse Mayer von Rothschild (1878-1942), 1911;
Confiscated from the above, 13 March 1938 (inv. no. AR 867) and allocated for the Kunstmuseum Linz;
Munich Central Collecting Point;
Repatriated to the Austrian government, and restituted to Baroness Clarice von Rothschild, November 30, 1947;
Selected as a donation to the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (inv. 9100), 1948;
Restored to the Rothschild family, March 1999;Their sale, London, Christie's, 8 July
1999, lot 218;
There acquired by the present collector for $3,600,467.
Jean Baptiste Baron Puthon (1773-1839), Vienna;
His deceased sale, Vienna, Artaria & Co, 1840;
There acquired by E. Netscher, Rotterdam:
From whom acquired by Leonardus Pieter Klerk de Reus, The Hague, for 600 I., by 1842;
Baron Anselm von Rothschild (1803-1874), Frankfurt-am-Main and Vienna (acquired from the above in 1845 for about 600 l. through the agency of Moritz Daniel Oppenheim and the dealer E. Netscher as part of a group of 35 paintings);
Thence by descent to Baron Nathaniel von Rothschild (1836-1905), Vienna, until at least 1903;
Thence by inheritance to his brother, Baron Albert von Rothschild (1844-1911), 1905;
Thence by descent to Baron Alphonse Mayer von Rothschild (1878-1942), 1911;
Confiscated from the above, 13 March 1938 (inv. no. AR 867) and allocated for the Kunstmuseum Linz;
Munich Central Collecting Point;
Repatriated to the Austrian government, and restituted to Baroness Clarice von Rothschild, November 30, 1947;
Selected as a donation to the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (inv. 9100), 1948;
Restored to the Rothschild family, March 1999;Their sale, London, Christie's, 8 July
1999, lot 218;
There acquired by the present collector for $3,600,467.
Exhibited
Vienna, 1873, no. 123;
Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, 1948-1999 (as painted circa 1670).
Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, 1948-1999 (as painted circa 1670).
Literature
Possibly, J. Smith, A catalogue raisonné of the works of the most eminent Dutch painters of the seventeenth century, supplement, London 1842, pp. 747-748, cat. no. 33 (where described in reverse with the nearer huntsman as mounted and with incorrect horizontal measurements);
Inventory of Palais Rothschild, Theresianumgasse, 1903, p. 32, cat. no. 61;
C. Hofstede de Groot, A catalogue raisonné of the works of the most eminent Dutch painters of the seventeenth century based on the work of John Smith, vol. VIII, London 1927, p. 529, cat. no. 438;
Inventory of Palais Rothschild, Theresianumgasse, 1934, p. 187, cat. no. 318;
G. Heinz and F. Klauner, Kunsthistorisches Museum Katalog der Gemäldegalerie 2. Teil: Vlamen, Holländer, Deutsche, Franzosen, Vienna 1963, cat. no. 419;
K. Demus, Katalog der Gemäldegalerie: holländische Meister des 15., 16. und 17. Jahrhunderts, Vienna 1972, p. 110 (noting a verbal query on the attribution by J. Nieuwstraten, who has since, through oral communication, confirmed that he does not remember this query and has absolutely no doubt whatsoever regarding the authenticity of the picture, and indeed believes that the Rothschild picture is "one of the best authentic works by Wijnants");
C. Brandstätter, Die Gemäldegalerie des Kunsthistorischen Museums in Wien: Verzeichnis der Gemälde, Vienna 1991, p. 136, cat. no. 9100, reproduced fig. 523;
"Grande Aste," in Antiquariato, September 1999, p. 44, reproduced;
A. Weber, in Moritz Daniel Oppenheim: die Entdeckung des jüdischen Selbstbewusstseins in der Kunst, exhibition catalogue, Cologne 1999, p. 173 and note 15 (referencing the artist's 1845 Skizzenbuch in the Heinrich Heine-Institut, Dusseldorf, Inv. No.71.154).
K. Eisele, Jan Wijnants: ein Niederländischer Maler der Ideallandschaft im Goldenen Jahrhundert, Stuttgart 2000, p. 138, cat. no. 93, reproduced plate XVIII;
F. Kunth, "Anselm von Rothschild, collector," in The Rothschild Archive, Annual Review of the Year April 2001-March 2002, reproduced p. 39;
S. Lillie, Was einmal war. Handbuch der enteigneten Kunstsammlungen Wiens, Vienna 2003, p. 1032, no. 867;
B. Schwarz, Hitlers Museum. Die Fotoalbum Gemäldegalerie Linz: Dokumente zum "Fuehrermuseum", Vienna 2004, p. 112, cat. no IV/10, reproduced p. 237;
F. Kunth, Die Rothschild’schen Gemäldesammlungen in Wien, Vienna 2006, pp. 102, note 191, 108, 230-231;
Inventory of Palais Rothschild, Theresianumgasse, 1903, p. 32, cat. no. 61;
C. Hofstede de Groot, A catalogue raisonné of the works of the most eminent Dutch painters of the seventeenth century based on the work of John Smith, vol. VIII, London 1927, p. 529, cat. no. 438;
Inventory of Palais Rothschild, Theresianumgasse, 1934, p. 187, cat. no. 318;
G. Heinz and F. Klauner, Kunsthistorisches Museum Katalog der Gemäldegalerie 2. Teil: Vlamen, Holländer, Deutsche, Franzosen, Vienna 1963, cat. no. 419;
K. Demus, Katalog der Gemäldegalerie: holländische Meister des 15., 16. und 17. Jahrhunderts, Vienna 1972, p. 110 (noting a verbal query on the attribution by J. Nieuwstraten, who has since, through oral communication, confirmed that he does not remember this query and has absolutely no doubt whatsoever regarding the authenticity of the picture, and indeed believes that the Rothschild picture is "one of the best authentic works by Wijnants");
C. Brandstätter, Die Gemäldegalerie des Kunsthistorischen Museums in Wien: Verzeichnis der Gemälde, Vienna 1991, p. 136, cat. no. 9100, reproduced fig. 523;
"Grande Aste," in Antiquariato, September 1999, p. 44, reproduced;
A. Weber, in Moritz Daniel Oppenheim: die Entdeckung des jüdischen Selbstbewusstseins in der Kunst, exhibition catalogue, Cologne 1999, p. 173 and note 15 (referencing the artist's 1845 Skizzenbuch in the Heinrich Heine-Institut, Dusseldorf, Inv. No.71.154).
K. Eisele, Jan Wijnants: ein Niederländischer Maler der Ideallandschaft im Goldenen Jahrhundert, Stuttgart 2000, p. 138, cat. no. 93, reproduced plate XVIII;
F. Kunth, "Anselm von Rothschild, collector," in The Rothschild Archive, Annual Review of the Year April 2001-March 2002, reproduced p. 39;
S. Lillie, Was einmal war. Handbuch der enteigneten Kunstsammlungen Wiens, Vienna 2003, p. 1032, no. 867;
B. Schwarz, Hitlers Museum. Die Fotoalbum Gemäldegalerie Linz: Dokumente zum "Fuehrermuseum", Vienna 2004, p. 112, cat. no IV/10, reproduced p. 237;
F. Kunth, Die Rothschild’schen Gemäldesammlungen in Wien, Vienna 2006, pp. 102, note 191, 108, 230-231;
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 has been well restored and should be hung in its current condition. The canvas has an old glue lining which is still active and preserves a very fresh and textured paint layer. The paint layer has not been abraded, and the details throughout the work are extraordinarily well preserved.
Retouches are clearly visible under ultraviolet light. A thin break in the canvas between the birch tree and the left edge has been restored, and there is another vertical restoration at the base of the same tree. There is an area of retouching above the pair of hunting dogs in the foreground, which runs into the hindquarters of the dog above. These retouches are slightly more complex, but are isolated nonetheless. There is another small restoration to the right of the horse and rider. The sky is almost completely unrestored, except for one or two small retouches in the upper right, and a few on the extreme top edge. The retouches are accurate and concise, and the condition is unusually good within the remainder of the picture.
"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 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
This splendid large-scale landscape is a masterwork by Jan Wijnants, one of the most important Dutch landscape painters of the second half of the 17th century. Throughout his career, Wijnants drew inspiration for his landscapes from the dunes near Haarlem, where he was born, and where his early development was influenced by Jacob van Ruisdael and Philips Wouwermans. This painting employs one of the artist’s favorite compositional structures, with the left side of the canvas built up with dunes and trees, and a winding path leading into an open panoramic view at right. The staffage in Wijnants' paintings was often added by another artist, in this case by his frequent collaborator Adriaen van de Velde. The son and brother of the marine painters, Willems van de Velde I and II, Adriaen showed promise as a landscape painter and, according to Arnold Houbraken, was sent to Haarlem to study with Wijnants.1 Due to his additional skill at painting both figures and animals, he was often employed to add staffage to landscapes not just by Wijnants, but by other fellow artists such as Ruisdael, Hobbema, van der Heyden and de Moucheron. Similar compositions by Wijnants can be found in the collection of the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin (inv. no. 508, 94 by 120 cm.) and the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (inv. no. 38, 22.2 by 27.9 cm., one of a pair).
The Rothschild Provenance:
The Rothschild history of this painting by Wijnants is one which highlights the taste for Old Masters by one of the most important collecting dynasties in modern times. The picture was in the collection of Baron Anselm von Rothschild (1803-1874) by 1845. Anselm was the son of Salomon Mayer von Rothschild (1774-1855), founder of the family banking house, and created the K. K. Priv. Österreichische Credit-Anstalt für Handel und Gewerbe, which became the largest bank of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. From the moment of their earliest success, each generation demonstrated a diverse yet equally passionate and astute aptitude for collecting, whose cumulative efforts rival the greatest European noble collections including those of the Habsburgs, Medici, and Bourbons.
This Wijnants hung in Anselm’s palatial home on the Renngasse in Vienna, and specifically in the aptly named ‘Gemäldesaal’ or ‘Museum’ room of the home. It was in this home that the core of the Rothschild family’s Dutch painting collection hung, and it was Anselm who was the first member of the family to truly engage with Dutch pictures on a high level. The core of the collection began with Anselm’s 1845 purchase of the entire collection of the Dutch businessman Klerk de Reus. This acquisition en bloc brought into the family collection important pictures by the best names from the Dutch Golden Age. From this moment Dutch pictures became a priority for Anselm and, indeed, in his posthumous inventory 116 oil paintings were recorded, 93 of which were Dutch old masters.
The picture passed into the collections of Anselm’s sons, first Nathaniel von Rothschild and shortly thereafter to Nathaniel’s brother Albert von Rothschild. Baron Alphonse de Rothschild inherited it from his father Albert, and it was during his period of ownership, within days of the Anschluss in March 1938, that the collection of the Viennese branch of the family was seized by the Nazi authorities. The Wijnants was earmarked for Hitler’s never-realized museum complex in his native Linz. Following the conclusion of the War, the picture was recovered by the American 42nd Division from the Nazi storage facilities in the Salt Mines in Alt Aussee before being restituted to Baroness Clarice de Rothschild, Alphonse’s widow, in 1947. The Wijnants was one of eleven key paintings from the Rothschild collection which the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna selected in exchange for the grant of a license to export the remainder of the collection to New York. The Wijnants hung in the Kunsthistorisches Museum from 1948 until 1999 when it was restituted by the Austrian State to Clarice’s daughter Bettina Looram.
1. See P. Sutton in Masters of 17th-Century Dutch Landscape Painting, exhibition catalogue, Amsterdam 1987, pp. 492 and 523.
The Rothschild Provenance:
The Rothschild history of this painting by Wijnants is one which highlights the taste for Old Masters by one of the most important collecting dynasties in modern times. The picture was in the collection of Baron Anselm von Rothschild (1803-1874) by 1845. Anselm was the son of Salomon Mayer von Rothschild (1774-1855), founder of the family banking house, and created the K. K. Priv. Österreichische Credit-Anstalt für Handel und Gewerbe, which became the largest bank of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. From the moment of their earliest success, each generation demonstrated a diverse yet equally passionate and astute aptitude for collecting, whose cumulative efforts rival the greatest European noble collections including those of the Habsburgs, Medici, and Bourbons.
This Wijnants hung in Anselm’s palatial home on the Renngasse in Vienna, and specifically in the aptly named ‘Gemäldesaal’ or ‘Museum’ room of the home. It was in this home that the core of the Rothschild family’s Dutch painting collection hung, and it was Anselm who was the first member of the family to truly engage with Dutch pictures on a high level. The core of the collection began with Anselm’s 1845 purchase of the entire collection of the Dutch businessman Klerk de Reus. This acquisition en bloc brought into the family collection important pictures by the best names from the Dutch Golden Age. From this moment Dutch pictures became a priority for Anselm and, indeed, in his posthumous inventory 116 oil paintings were recorded, 93 of which were Dutch old masters.
The picture passed into the collections of Anselm’s sons, first Nathaniel von Rothschild and shortly thereafter to Nathaniel’s brother Albert von Rothschild. Baron Alphonse de Rothschild inherited it from his father Albert, and it was during his period of ownership, within days of the Anschluss in March 1938, that the collection of the Viennese branch of the family was seized by the Nazi authorities. The Wijnants was earmarked for Hitler’s never-realized museum complex in his native Linz. Following the conclusion of the War, the picture was recovered by the American 42nd Division from the Nazi storage facilities in the Salt Mines in Alt Aussee before being restituted to Baroness Clarice de Rothschild, Alphonse’s widow, in 1947. The Wijnants was one of eleven key paintings from the Rothschild collection which the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna selected in exchange for the grant of a license to export the remainder of the collection to New York. The Wijnants hung in the Kunsthistorisches Museum from 1948 until 1999 when it was restituted by the Austrian State to Clarice’s daughter Bettina Looram.
1. See P. Sutton in Masters of 17th-Century Dutch Landscape Painting, exhibition catalogue, Amsterdam 1987, pp. 492 and 523.