JOHANNES NATUS | A tavern scene with peasants smoking and drinking

Lord Biddulph, London, 1954;

By whom sold, London, Sotheby's, 12 May 1954, lot 51 (as Claes Molenaer), to Douwes;

With Gebr. Douwes, Amsterdam;

F.C. Butôt, Sankt Gilgen, Austria;

Anonymous sale ('The Property of a Gentleman'), London, Sotheby's, 12 July 1978, lot 29, for £16,000 to Gregor;

With Gebr. Douwes, Amsterdam, by 1990, from whom acquired in circa 1996.

Middelburg, Stadhuis, Het oof van de meester. Nederlandse schilderkunst uit de 17e eeuw, 1968, no. 35;

Salzburg / Münster 1972–1973, unnumbered;

Rotterdam 1973, unnumbered;

Berlin, Kaiser-Friedrich-Museums-Verein, Holländische Malerei aus Berliner Privatbesitz, 1984, no. 44;

Rotterdam 2008, no. 37.

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Salzburg / Münster 1972–1973, pp. 94–95, reproduced;

Rotterdam 1973, pp. 76–77, reproduced;

W. Bernt, Die Niederländischen Maler und Zeichner des 17. Jahrhunderts, Munich 1980, vol. II, reproduced fig. 886;

R.E. Fleischer, Ludolf de Jongh (1616-1679): Painter of Rotterdam, Doornspijk 1989, p. 80, reproduced fig. 99;

Raupp 2004, pp. 302–05, cat. no. 71, reproduced in colour;

Rotterdam 2008, p. 56, cat. no. 37, reproduced in colour.

Almost nothing is known of Johannes Natus’ life and career, except that in 1662 it is documented that he became a member of the Guild of Saint Luke in Middelburg – the city second only to Amsterdam as Holland’s most important centre of trade during the 17th century. The artist appears to have specialised in high-quality depictions of tavern interiors, the rather monumental figures, quality of light, and colours in which suggest that he may have spent time in Italy.