Master Paintings

Master Paintings

View full screen - View 1 of Lot 52. A peddler before a crowd of villagers in a town square.

Property from a New York Private Collection, Sold Without Reserve

Benjamin Gerritsz. Cuyp

A peddler before a crowd of villagers in a town square

No reserve

Lot Closed

October 21, 04:52 PM GMT

Estimate

6,000 - 8,000 USD

Lot Details

Description

Property from a New York Private Collection, Sold Without Reserve

Benjamin Gerritsz. Cuyp

Dordrecht 1612 - 1652

A peddler before a crowd of villagers in a town square


signed lower left: cuyp

oil on panel

panel: 34⅝ by 27½ in.; 87.9 by 69.9 cm.

framed: 45⅝ by 38⅜ in.; 115.9 by 97.5 cm.

With H. Shickman Gallery, New York (as "The Quack"), according to a label on the reverse;

Thereafter acquired by the present collector.

Born in Dordrecht in 1612 into an artistic family, Benjamin Gerritsz. Cuyp trained and worked in the studio of his half-brother, Jacob Gerritsz. Cuyp, father of Aelbert Cuyp. Benjamin Gerritsz. became a member of the Dordrecht painters' guild in 1631 and would eventually settle there prior to his death in 1652, though he was also active in The Hague and Utrecht.


This is a characteristic work by the artist, whose oeuvre consists predominately of peasant scenes, military skirmishes, and religious compositions. As is evident in this picture, Cuyp’s paintings are often distinguished by a golden tonality and restrained palette, dominated by browns, yellows, and grays. While it is not known whether he had any direct contact with Rembrandt, his nuanced use of light and shade for dramatic effect suggests the influence of the latter upon Cuyp's work.