Frans de Hulst

With Pawsey and Payne, London;
Anonymous sale, London, Christie's South Kensington, 19 April 2000, lot 118, for £14,100;
With Johnny van Haeften, London, from whom acquired.

The sale catalogue from 2000 states that the late Dr. Hans-Ulrich Beck had confirmed the attribution to De Hulst on the basis of a photograph. He dates the picture to circa 1640, and points out that the gnarled tree and the figures in front of the inn are typical of that date. He also notes the relative rarity of signed pictures from this period.

Frans de Hulst was born in Haarlem, where he trained, worked, and became a member of the painters’ guild. His countryside landscapes, such as the present work, are his preferred subject matter and are often compared to the works of Salomon van Ruysdael (1600-70) and Jan van Goyen (1596-1656), from whom he took inspiration.