ADRIAEN VAN SALM | A VIEW OF THE ZWAENSEILAND AND THE RIVER ZWAENHALS, ROTTERDAM, THE SINT LAURENSKERK BEYOND

The Viscount of Roda, Madrid, by circa 1930;

Thence descent to a private collection, Madrid;

From whom acquired by the present owner.

This expansive river townscape depicts van Salm's native Rotterdam, the town that would be his home and center of artistic production. The towering Sint Laurenskerk stands in the far distance, as van Salm sets the bustle of everyday activity along the busy river front as the protagonist of this lively penschilderij. The picture is staged from nearly the identical spot as a work sold as Circle of Thomas Heeremans at Christie's Amsterdam, 2 September 2003, lot 38.

Adriaen van Salm was a resident of Delfshaven (a borough of Rotterdam) who specialized in penschilderen, of which this is a highly representative and wonderfully preserved example that has not been seen in public in decades. The technique of penschilderen painting: drawing in ink with a reed or quill pen on a gesso prepared panel or canvas, yielded a highly refined image. These monochromatic works, typically depicting shipping, whaling and the occasional winter or river scene, are highly detailed and have the appearance of a drawing or print. Images such as this were amongst the finest which were highly desired by collectors in the 17th and 18th centuries especially. Early practitioners of penschilderen were Willem van de Velde (1611-1693) and Caspar van den Bos (born 1634), both of whom specialized in shipping and whaling scenes.