Lot 165
  • 165

AERT VAN DER NEER | A frozen canal with kolf players and buildings on both banks

Estimate
120,000 - 180,000 GBP
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Description

  • A frozen canal with kolf players and buildings on both banks
  • signed with monogram lower right: AVDN
  • oil on oak panel
  • 25 x 35 cm.; 9 7/8  x 13 3/4  in.

Provenance

Private collection, Holland;
With W.E. Duits, Amsterdam, March 1933;
Louis Rozelaar (1883-1943), Amsterdam;
Thence by family descent in New York and Monaco.

Literature

W. Schulz, Aert van der Neer, Doornspijk 2002, p. 148, cat. no. 84, reproduced in black and white fig. 45.

Condition

The panel is cradled and flat. The paint surface is clean and the varnish is clear and even. The wood grain has become somewhat visible but the paint surface is very well preserved with the scumbling in the clouds still evident. Inspection under ultraviolet light reveals very fine, sensitively rendered horizontal lines of retouching along the wood grain throughout, and a more recent vertical line of retouching to a superficial, very fine scratch measuring no more than 10 cm. lower centre. There is also a small area of more concentrated retouching measuring less than 0.5 cm. squared in the sky just to the right of the church tower left, and a short horizontal line of retouching to a scratch in the sky just to the left of the clouds upper left measuring 1.5 cm. long. None of the above disturb the image and the painting is ready to hang without the need for further intervention. In overall good condition. Offered in a Regency style plaster gilded frame in 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."

Catalogue Note

A copy of this painting (26.3 x 37.8 cm.) from the collection of Sir Harald Samuel, at Wych Cross Place, Sussex, is now in the collection at Mansion House, London.1 What is likely to be a second copy (26.5 x 37.5 cm.)2 was sold by order of the trustees of the North Carolina Museum of Art, New York, Christie's, 5 June 1985, lot 109, although it's hard to be sure that this and the Mansion House copy are not one and the same. In the archive at the Rijksbureau voor kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague, is a record of a third copy, previously in the Goudstikker collection, but without dimensions, its current whereabouts, or any further information. This lot is offered with a copy of an expertise written by Dr. Schultz, dated 28 August 1994, in which he notes the good condition of the panel, as well as the effective way in which Van der Neer has depicted the atmosphere, the clouds and the glistening ice, as well as the accurate depiction of the movements of the people.

1 Schultz 2002, p. 136, cat. no. 34, reproduced fig. 327
2 Schultz 2002, p. 183, cat. no. 197.