John Robert Cozens

Sale, London, Sotheby's, 19 March 1958, lot 35;

with Walker Galleries, London,

where acquired by Walter Brandt (1902-1978), 1958,

by family descent until,

their sale, London, Sotheby's, 8 July 2011, lot 204,

sale, London, Christie's, 7 July 2015, lot 84,

where acquired by present owner

Suffolk, Ickworth House, Exhibition of Early English Water-colours of the Great Period, 1968, no. 20

In the present work John Robert Cozens depicts the valley of Ober-Hasli from the Kirchet ridge in between Meiringen and Innertkirchet, Switzerland. From this high viewpoint he achieves not only a sense of grandeur but also one of serene peacefulness. Far below on the valley floor, one can make out the dwellings of the local inhabitants and the river Aare, whose meandering course draws the eye southwards toward the mountains. In the distance, to the extreme right, Mount Ritzlihorn can be seen.

This work dates from Cozens's tour to the Continent with the connoisseur and collector Richard Payne Knight (1751-1824), between 1776 and 1779. Entering Switzerland at Geneva in August 1776, the two men travelled along the north side of the lake, then continued southeast through Sallanches to Chamonix and over the Col de Montetes to Martigny, and thence through the mountains to Spiez and Interlaken. Their route then took them through Grindelwald and over the Gross Scheidegg to Meiringen. The travellers finally entered Italy through the Splügen pass and arrived at Rome in November 1776. Cozens was to remain in Italy until 1779, when he returned to England.

Cozens was clearly intrigued by the Ober-Hasli Valley, and it formed the basis for six other watercolours. These include: First View on the Reichenbach between Grindelwald and the Vale of Ober-Hasli (British Museum, London, 1900.0411.14); View on the Reichenbach near Meiringen in the Valley of Ober-Hasli (British Museum, London, 1900.0411.23); Lower Part of The Valley of Ober-Hasli from the South-East (British Museum, London, 1900.0411.21); The Valley of Ober-Hasli from the South-East (Victoria & Albert Museum, London, D708); Lesser Valley of Ober-Hasli, upper part from the North (British Museum, London, 1900.0411,20) and Near the Valley of Ober-Hasli (British Museum, London, 1900.0411,29).