Dutch Paintings

Executed in oil on oak panel, this scene captures a shepherd and his dog walking the flock home at the end of the day along a rough dirt path during golden hour where the sun hits the haze of the horizon in such a way that the brilliant warm pastels touch most reflective surfaces. Tips of rocks and sheep gleam with hues of orange, gold and reds under the cloudy sky before a mountain landscape. The painting is inscribed by the artist’s own hand on a label to the reverse which includes both a signature and date of 10 January 1866. Johannes Franciscus Hoppenbrouwers studied at the Academy of Fine Art in The Hague under the acclaimed landscape painter Andreas Schelfhout...

A brilliant canal scene typical of Charles Henri Leickert's ouevre, this fine scene makes a mother and her young daughter strolling a dirt path the focal point of the intricately detailed composition with an almost supernatural light shining on them from an unknown source. Within the pale blue waters of the canal flowing along the right side of the picture, Leickert places a series of small fishing vessels drawn up to the shore with their sails brought in. This is a compositional choice he frequently employed in his work, the canal balanced almost exactly to one-third of the scene with a severe leftward [or rightward when the composition is reversed] angle, the bulk of the scene focused on the buildings and people on the bank and land. Painted at the height of his career in 1859, the scene is an example of his best quality with intricate handling of the details in every element. Particularly striking is the nuanced texture and individuality of the brickwork on the tall building left of the figures. It stands out with such a variety of hues and tones, varying degrees of translucent shadows cast across the aged building with a roof in disrepair. In his typical script, the work is signed lower right "Ch. Leickert F. 59". Provenance: * With McConnal-Mason & Sons, London [label verso] * With Christies, London (South Kensington), Sale 8252, 31 January 2013, lot 8, achieved 18,750 GBP [prevailing exchange rate at time of sale 1.57 GBP/USD for an approximate sale price of $ 29,400] CHARLES HENRI JOSEPH LEICKERT Born in Brussels on September 22nd of 1816, Charles Henri Joseph Leickert studied at the Academy in The Hague and further studied under the landscape painters Bartholomeus van Hove, Andreas Schelfhout and Wijnandus Johannes Josephus Nuyen, who heavily influenced Leickert's preference for and composition of cityscapes. The three painters were some of the most highly regarded of the Dutch Romantic period and Schelfhout had a particularly strong influence on the trajectory of Leickert’s work; the similarities between their oeuvre is notable, particularly in his skating scenes. Leickert focused all of his energies on Dutch landscapes, capturing vivid landscapes, rivers, mountains, windmills and many scenes of ice skating. He came to specialize in winter landscapes with a particular emphasis on the atmospheric romance of the sky and the play of light across pale blue and light pink skies against the elements below in the evening hours. His work was strictly focused on the Netherlands and he painted almost exclusively in his home country during his working years, first in The Hague from 1841 through 1846 and later in Amsterdam from 1849 through 1883. Upon moving to Amsterdam in 1849, Leickert joined 'Arti et Amicitiae' group of artists and in 1856 he became a member of the Koninklijke Akademie. Towards the end of the 1850s, Leickert began to expand his studies to include cityscapes and even some beach scenes. This period would mark the height of his career, from roughly 1850 through 1870, as this time-frame saw a colliding of both an exceedingly high demand for his work and also the highest development of his skillset as an artist. Kraaij observes in his biography and catalogue raisonne on Leickert, "his paintings are carefully finished; elements such as vegetation and background are executed in particular detail. The color contrasts are often surprising and the rendering of chiaroscuro is magnificent.” After spending time viewing his "View of Amsterdam in the Winter with Setting Sun" at exhibition, an art critic wrote "Leickert has long managed to situate himself outside the school of Shelfhout-that is, to learn, to observe with his own eyes. His View of Amsterdam in the Winter with Setting Sun is one of those paintings at which one might gaze for a long time to recover, as it were, all that is surprising and alluring about a sunset in December. The sky has a particular divine effect, being harmoniously rendered and incontrovertibly one of the most handsome of the Exhibition." [see Kraaij] In order to meet demand, he often would create several versions of the same composition, sometimes changing small details or leaving out certain elements. The work of the Dutch landscapist was very much in demand for its distinct rejection of the Romantic School sentiments throughout the rest of Europe where landscapes were often infused with exotic and mystical elements. By contrast, the Dutch Romantics looked to the “Golden Age” of the 17th-century painters and sought to capture the tranquility and nostalgia of their homeland with its ancient towns full of interesting architecture, rural scenes dotted with windmills and rolling hills with rushing rivers exactly as they naturally existed. Leickert was a major beneficiary of this attention, as his work would become some of the most highly regarded of the period. Like most of his contemporaries during this period, Leickert’s landscapes did not seek to be topographically exacting but rather to recreate the relevant and realistic essence of what made the Dutch countryside so inherently beautiful, arranging these elements in a pleasing and balanced composition. To this end, Leickert made extensive plein-air studies to utilize later in his work. Some 750 pencil sketches and several of his sketchbooks are today preserved in the Mittelrheinisches Landesmuseum in Mainz, providing critical insight into the preparatory process that went into his paintings. At the age of 71, Leickert moved to Mainz, Germany where he died in 1907. He produced around seven hundred paintings in his lifetime, exhibiting eighty-five of these and his work remains some of the most highly sought-after of the Dutch Romantic School. His best work is characterized by brilliant color, fine composition of the scene with balance of all elements and painstakingly precise attention to detail with minute brushwork bringing out a full range of texture. Leickert's paintings are held in the permanent collections of museums around the world, including the Hermitage Museum, the Riijksmuseum, the Museum Paul Tetar van Elven...

An exquisite sweeping landscape of the Italian countryside with bright blue skies in a gentle gradation towards a golden hue brought on by the nearly setting sun. Fishermen are busy ...

A rich and romantic interior scene capturing domestic life in a small peasant home, it is a delightful scene that depicts a humble but comfortable space. It captures the joy and exha...

There is an incredible amount of detail carefully layered into this small landscape painting. A nostalgic and romantic work, it is a fine scene depicting the Dutch countryside during...

The light of the setting sun breaks across this scene with an intense golden glow, settling across the brilliant blond hair of the seated baby girl on the floor as she plays with a f...

Fleur de Lys is a unique abstract contemporary oil painting by the Dutch artist Maarten Vrolijk. Enthralled by flowers and the power of nature, Vrolijk’s vibrant and joyous painti...

A rich scene captured during the golden hour of sunset, the town is congregated on the frozen waterway running through a Dutch village. Lights are on in the thatched-roof brick build...

"Cattle Grazing Along Vordense Beek with View of Windmill" by Arnold Marc Gorter (Dutch, 1866-1933) Signed lower right "A.M. Gorter", in oil on canvas Item # C104007 A large, vibrant and quite noteworthy picture by Arnold Marc Gorter, it is such a pleasing and optimistic scene. Something of a departure from his more monochromatic and dreary works, this cheery scene depicts a beautiful autumn day under blue skies interlaced with light cloud cover. The trees are changing colors in warm tones of orange, burnt red and yellows while a handful remain unchanged before the clear and still waters of the Vordense beek. This small river was represented in a vast majority of his paintings and was clearly a favorite focal point when framed by the bucolic countryside. This atmospheric work is characterized by impressionistic brush work with a mix of heavy impasto and more subtle complex brush strokes in the details. It is an excellent example of his technical proficiency with gorgeous reflections and shadows that perfectly capture the mechanics of reality. The work is signed lower right in his typical script "A.M. Gorter". Arnold Marc Gorter was born in Almelo in 1866 and moved to Amsterdam in 1884. There he attended the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten located in the newly built Rijksmusem, where he graduated in 1887 and became an instructor in 1889 through 1896. He was awarded distinction at exhibition in 1904, a second-place award in 1910 and a medal in Munich in 1905. He exhibited internationally at the Internationale Kunstausstellungen in Berlin, the 1904 Universal Exposition in St. Louis, and the Salon des Artistes Français in Paris. He further served as president of Saint Lucas...

Likely painted in the 1920s, the present work by Bernard de Hoog is not dated but does include a faint stamp on the stretcher verso noting its original retailer: Robert C. Vose. A third-generation art dealer of what is now Vose Galleries, Robert C. Vose moved his shop to 559 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts as addressed in the stamp in June of 1924. They were one of the premier art galleries of the time, holding one of the largest stocks of paintings in the United States outside of New York City. It is a large work for de Hoog, though not unusually large: at least 7 paintings are documented in the Benezit has having sold with the same dimensions, the last a depiction of Washing Day in Amsterdam on October 23 2002 for 25,000 Euros. The work is housed in a period Barbizon frame of very fine quality with an oxidization that suggests the frame and canvas are at least very nearly contemporary to one another, though it is rather likely the first frame. The work highlights a young and tired mother, surrounding her with light and truly making her face the focal point of the painting. Her shoulders are slightly hunched as her infant rests peacefully wrapped in layers and bundled in a small white blanket. Light shines from a source to the right, cascading across her toddler son and making his hair glow golden as he sits quietly reading in a miniature chair. The surroundings are simple and the layered garments suggest a late autumn or winter setting, but the scene feels warm and nostalgic. It is signed in his typical script lower right “Bernard de Hoog“. Born in Amsterdam, Holland in 1886, Bernard de Hoog wanted to pursue art studies after showing some talent at a young age, but this was against the wishes of his father and instead he went to work in a merchant's office. The merchant saw a sample of his studies and commissioned de Hoog to paint a portrait of his wife. Following this encouragement, de Hoog studied under a drawing master and later at the Quellinus School in Amsterdam with the assistance of a subsidy by the queen. There he was pupil to Johann Frederick Hulk Sr. and worked under the famous animal painter Jan van Essen...

A positively luminous work by an unknown Dutch artist, the work is signed in a tidy script along the aged posts of the pier "J. De Koster 1871". The wisps of clouds overhead clear fo...

The work of David de la Mar was heavily influenced by the Dutch Barbizon School, evident in the early impressionism that permeats his paintings. The present example is a gorgeous dep...