Jakob Philipp Hackert

Anonymous sale, London, Christie’s, 23 March 1973, lot 8, for 8500 guineas, to Leggatts;

Art market, Frankfurt am Main, by 1997;

With Bernheimer, Munich;

From whom acquired in June 2001, for 280,000 Deutschmarks.

C. Nordhoff and H. Reimer, Jakob Phillip Hackert 1737–1807: Verzeichnis seiner Werke, Berlin 1994, vol. II, p. 20, no. 55 (with incorrect measurements);

C. Nordhoff, Hackert, Naples 2005, p. 125, no. 8, reproduced (with incorrect measurements).

As attested by the signature, date and inscription at lower right, Hackert painted this lively scene during his sojourn in Paris, where he resided from 1765–68. During this period, his work was largely influenced by that of Claude-Joseph Vernet (1714–1789), whose style is certainly detectable in both the compositional arrangement and execution of the figures. The impact of Swiss artist Balthasar Anton Dunker (1746–1807) – whom Hackert worked alongside in Paris, focusing on gouache techniques – can also be felt upon examination of this picture's related gouache, today in a private collection, which dates to the same year.¹

Although this view is imagined, Hackert has undoubtedly assembled the composition by combining various sketches drawn from life during his travels. For example, the steep coast in the background recalls that near Dieppe; the entrance to the fortress – an arch surmounted by a shrine with a statue of the Virgin – is comparable with a drawing of 1767 depicting the castle of Gisors; and the sailing boat flying the Danish flag is based on sketches Hackert made during his voyage from Hamburg to Calais in May 1765.²

¹ The gouache is one of a pair; its pendant depicts a shipyard at sea. Both measure 15.6 x 20.8 cm. and are signed and dated: Jacq. Ph: Hackert, f. 1768.

² Nordhoff 2005, p. 125, no. 8.