Philips Wouwerman

Anonymous sale, Amsterdam, 26 June 1799, lot 9, for 3450 Dutch florins, to Vliet ('...une des meilleures productions de cet artiste');

John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford (1766–1839), Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire, before 1819;

By whom sold, London, Christie’s, 30 June 1827, lot 100, for 500 guineas ('...painted in a sweet pearly tone, the sky brilliant, and the whole remarkably clear');

Where acquired by 'Noseda' on behalf of John Fairlie, London;

Acquired from 'Chaplin' by Mr. Pennell, in 1844, for £850;

Private collection (according to Schumacher 2006; see Literature);

Boussac Collection, France, before 1961;

With Didier Aaron, Paris, London and New York, by April 1983;

Anonymous sale, Lille, J. Mercier, J. Velliet and D. Thullier, 13 June 1999, lot 272;

With Richard Green, London;

From whom acquired in November 1999.

London, British Institution, Pictures of the Italian, Spanish, Flemish, and Dutch Schools, 1819, no. 153;

London, British Institution, Pictures by Italian, Spanish, Flemish, Dutch, and English Masters, June 1829, no. 80.

Catalogue of pictures of the Italian, Spanish, Flemish, and Dutch Schools, exh. cat., London 1819, p. 16, no. 153;

An account of all pictures exhibited in the rooms of the British Institution, from 1813 to 1823, belonging to the nobility and gentry of England, London 1824, pp. 192–93;

Catalogue of pictures by Italian, Spanish, Flemish, Dutch, and English Masters, exh. cat., London 1829, p. 17, no. 80;

J. Smith, A catalogue raisonné of the works of the most eminent Dutch, Flemish, and French painters, London 1829, vol. I, p. 346, no. 490 ('...admirably finished, and remarkably clear and silvery in tone');

C. Hofstede de Groot, A catalogue raisonné of the works of the most eminent Dutch painters of the seventeenth century, London 1909, vol. II, p. 388, no. 457;

B. Schumacher, Philips Wouwerman (1619–1668): The horse painter of the Golden Age, Doornspijk 2006, vol. I, p. 337, no. A424, vol. II, reproduced in colour pls 64, 64a and 64b.

Acknowledged among Wouwerman's best productions from as early as 1799 (see Provenance), this animated landscape can be dated to the 1650s, when the artist is generally regarded as having been at the height of his powers. Set beneath a lofty, open sky, the view possesses all the lightness in atmosphere and elegance of style that made Wouwerman's pictures so sought after in the eighteenth century. Indeed, the silvery palette that suffuses the composition is particularly characteristic of the painter's work, especially during this period. In its composition, this picture recalls such masterpieces as The halt at the inn, which hangs today in the Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, likewise datable to around 1655–58 (fig. 1).¹

Note on Provenance

In the early 19^th century, this painting was owned by John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford, who – besides being a noted botanist, horticulturalist and agricultural improver – was one of the most significant British collectors of the nineteenth century. The Duke inherited both his title and Woburn Abbey, including its fine collection of Old Masters, in 1802, following the untimely death of his elder brother Francis Russell, 5th Duke of Bedford (1765–1802). Perhaps his greatest passion was for sculpture and architecture: he completed the Temple of Liberty at Woburn according to his brother's specifications and converted Henry Holland's greenhouse into a sculpture gallery, at the west end of which he later commissioned Jeffrey Wyatt (1766–1840) to design the Temple of Graces. The Duke visited Rome from 1814 to 1815, where he bought a number of antique marbles, including a fine collection of sarcophagus reliefs from the Villa Aldobrandini and a vase from Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli. He also demonstrated an interest in contemporary art, commissioning The Three Graces from Antonio Canova (1757–1822), today in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (fig. 2),² as well as various paintings by Richard Parkes Bonington (1802–1828), George Hayter (1792–1871) and Edwin Landseer (1802–1873). According to the introduction in the catalogue of the Duke's sale at Christie's in 1827, which included the present work (see Provenance), it was this growing interest in living artists that prompted him to dispose of a group of Old Master paintings attributed to, among others, David Teniers, Hans Holbein, Jan Steen, Rubens, Titian and Rembrandt. Interestingly, this painting by Wouwerman commanded the highest price of all the works in the sale: 500 guineas. The second most expensive painting, A view of rising ground on the shore of a harbour, which made £388, 10s., was also by Wouwerman, evidencing the artist's appeal during the 19^th century.

¹ Inv. no. P002152; oil on canvas, 61 x 73 cm.

² Accession no. A.4-1994; carved marble, 173 x 97.2 x 57 cm.