TETHART PHILIPP CHRISTIAN HAAG | A Soldier leading a horse to a blacksmith ('Cheval Limosin')

Sale, Amsterdam, Christie's, 15 November 1993, lot 166,
where acquired by the present owners

Boston, St. Botolph Club, A Selection of Dutch 18th Century Drawings and Watercolors from the Gordon Collection, 2003, no. 8

J. Rascher, Die Kassler Künstlerfamilie Haag. Ein beitrag zur Kunstgeschichte von Kassel, Den Haag und Berlin, Lindau 2013, p. 298, no. 35;
R.J.A. te Rijdt, in Kabinet der heerlijkste Tekenwerken,
Achttiende-eeuwse Nederlandse tekeningen uit de verzameling van de
Koninklijke Musea voor Schone Kunsten van België, exhib. cat., Brussels, KMSK; Enschede, Rijksmuseum Twenthe; Paris, Fondation Custodia, forthcoming (2019-2021), no. 64

Hinge mounted in two places along the upper edge to a modern cream mount. There is a small light brown stain to the upper right corner of the sheet. The work remains in otherwise good condition throughout, with the media strong and vibrant. Sold in a modern giltwood frame.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This grand, finished watercolor, and also another similar work in the De Grez Collection at the Brussels Museum (see Literature) and its variant in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam¹, relate to a series of ten small panel paintings by Haag, all 'portraits' of different breeds and types of horses.  The animal shown here is identified in the lower margin as a 'Cheval Limosin', a horse from Limoges. The Brussels/Amsterdam drawing represents a 'Cheval Danois' (Danish horse). The paintings, which were formerly in the possession of the master of the Horse at the Stadholder's Court, Baron Otto van Randwyck, are today kept at Cannenburg Castle, in the province of Gelderland.  The paintings are, however, all dated between 1785 and 1789, significantly later than the drawings, and since the backgrounds are also rather different in the paintings, it seems likely that the drawings were made as independent works, and not with the paintings in mind.  Works of this type by Haag are extremely rare.  We are very grateful to Robert-Jan te Rijdt for sharing with us his forthcoming exhibition catalogue entry on the De Grez collection drawing. 

^1. J.W. Niemeijer, Eighteenth-Century Watercolours from the Rijksmuseum Printroom, Amsterdam, exhib. cat., Paris, Fondation Custodia, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, and New York, The Frick Collection, 1991-93, no. 23