Jakob Philipp Hackert

Painted for Daniel Berger (1744–1825), Berlin (according to an inscription on the reverse of the original canvas);¹

Anonymous sale ('The Property of a Continental Family’), London, Sotheby’s, 8 July 1992, lot 80, for £94,600;

With Galerie Gisela Meier, Munich, by 1993;

Private collection;

With Richard Green, London, by 1997;

From whom acquired in January 1999.

C. Nordhoff and H. Reimer, Jakob Phillip Hackert 1737–1807: Verzeichnis seiner Werke, Berlin 1994, vol. I, reproduced in colour p. 456, pl. 40, vol. II, pp. 129–30, no. 269;

W. Krönig and R. Wegner, Jakob Philipp Hackert: der Landschaftsmaler der Goethezeit, Cologne 1994, reproduced in colour fig. 111;

C. Nordhoff, Hackert, Naples 2005, p. 202, no. 103, reproduced in colour p. 103.

Signed and dated 1797, this luminous landscape was painted two years before the fall of the Kingdom of Naples to the French, which precipitated Hackert's departure from Italy, when he was still Court Painter to Ferdinand IV (1751–1825). In this year, the artist dedicated himself primarily to the execution of paintings of what he described as his 'nuovo genere' (new genre): English gardens, at least in the foreground and middle distance, while the backgrounds of these works often portrayed 'la natura vera' (true nature).² One such example, which features motifs from the English Garden of Caserta, appeared for sale in these rooms in 1983 (fig. 1).³ The present painting likewise includes references to the Garden, as attested by the luscious green meadow, the abundant plants along the lower margin, the group of majestic oak trees at right, and the shepherds – accompanied by their herd – sat at their base. In spite of these recognisable motifs, though, it is clear that this view does not correspond exactly with a real location, but is instead imagined and composed of various elements. For instance, the waterfalls on the left are reminiscent of those in Tivoli, while the bridge recalls the Isclero Bridge near Montesarchio.

Note on Provenance

An inscription on the reverse of the original canvas demonstrates that this painting was intended as a gift for the German engraver Daniel Berger, who, like Hackert, had studied under Blaise Nicolas Le Sueur (1714–1783) at the Berlin Academy. The two artists remained in contact, as evidenced by a letter from Hackert to Berger dated 29 November 1777, in which Hackert thanked Berger for having taught his brother Georg.⁴ On that occasion too, Hackert is thought to have sent a painting to Berger for his kindness.

^1 Though the canvas has since been relined, the inscription is recorded as reading: Für den Herren Daniel Berger, von Philipp Hackert. Nordhoff and Reimer 1994, vol. II, p. 129, no. 269.

² Hackert explained this new type of landscape in a letter of 4 December 1792 to Count Dönhoff: Nordhoff 2005, pp. 192–93, under no. 91.

³ Oil on canvas, 120 x 175 cm.; London, Sotheby's, 30 November 1983, lot 50.

⁴ Nordhoff 2005, p. 202, no. 103.