Beschreibung:

DescriptionThe Property of a European Private Collector
Jan WijnantsHaarlem (?) circa 1635 - 1684 AmsterdamA wooded river landscape with travellers resting and conversing on a path, a castle beyond
signed and dated lower right: J. Wynants Anno 1665oil on copperunframed: 72.5 x 88.3 cm.; 28½ x 34¾ in.framed: 91.6 x 107 cm.; 36⅛ x 42⅛ in.Condition reportThe large copper plate is flat and stable, and is supported on the reverse by a wooden stretcher with one cross-batten. The paint surface is relatively clean and the varnish is clear and even. There is evidence of wear throughout the sky, but the lower half of the composition remains well-preserved. Inspection under ultraviolet light reveals retouchings throughout the sky, possibly from two campaigns, with more concentrated areas in the corners and around the margins. The painting is in overall fairly good condition.
The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colors and shades which are different to the lot's actual color and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation. The condition report is a statement of opinion only. For that reason, the condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot. NOTWITHSTANDING THIS ONLINE CONDITION REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE/BUSINESS APPLICABLE TO THE RESPECTIVE SALE.ProvenanceAnonymous sale (‘Members of a Noble Family’), Dublin, James Vallance, 5-6 June 1806, one of lots 40, 41, 42, or 43, for £56–17s., to the Duke of Bedford;
John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford (1766–1839), Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire;
Thence by family descent until sold (‘On the instructions of His Grace The Duke of Bedford, removed from Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire; in the case of Heirlooms sold with the consent of the Trustees’), London, Christie's, 19 January 1951, lot 73 (along with its pendant; as Jan Wynants and Johannes Lingelbach , to W. Sabin;
Anonymous sale, Vienna, Dorotheum, 21 March 2002, lot 99 (for EUR 132,000), where acquired by the present owner.LiteratureG. Scharf, A descriptive and historical catalogue of the collection of pictures at Woburn Abbey, London 1875, no. 93 (along with its pendant, no. 92);
K. Eisele, Jan Wijnants (1631/32–1684), Stuttgart 2000, p. 181, no. 260, reproduced fig. 259.ExhibitedLondon, British Institution, 1824, no. 8 (along with its pendant, no. 6).Catalogue noteThis painting is one of a series of four landscapes, all oil on copper and of the same dimensions, which were acquired in 1806 by John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford, when he was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. The paintings were considered as two sets of pendants, and were sold as such in the Bedford sale at Christie's in 1951, since which time all four paintings have been dispersed. The present lot was paired with the copper that was subsequently owner by the Earl of Arran, and was last recorded with David Koetser in Zurich, in 1976.1 Both paintings depict a wide landscape, with winding paths and rivers, peopled with travellers, which lead the viewer's eye into the panorama of the vista, probably based on or inspired by the landscape around Wijnants' hometown of Haarlem.
The present work also bears many similarities to a smaller painting on canvas, dated 1666, which replicates the track, waterway, and castle among the trees, that also define this composition.2 The present work, however, on a large piece of copper, contains far more detail in the still-life arrangement of the blasted tree and surrounding foliage in the foreground, which is painted using brushstrokes from smooth, slick lines through the tree trunk, to fine dashes in the grass, and stippled blobs in the leaves and mosses. The two stags on the bank at right and the colourfully-dressed figures in the foreground also enliven the scene, which contains the combination of silvery atmospheric perspective and warm sunlight, for which his paintings are most prized.
The figures in this composition are probably by Johannes Lingelbach (1624–1674).
1 Eisele 2000, p. 183, no. 269, reproduced fig. 269.2 Eisele 2000, p. 113, no. 3, reproduced fig. 3