Philips Wouwerman

Probably sold Amsterdam, July 4, 1785, lot 41, where acquired for 25 florins by
Fouquet;
Count Adam Gottlob Moltke, Copenhagen, by 1842(?);
His sale, Copenhagen, Winkel and Magnussen, June 1-2, 1931, lot 145 (the pendant was lot 146);
Contemporary Masters Corporation, by 1981;
From whom purchased by Saul P. Steinberg, New York;
By whom sold, New York, Sotheby's, January 30, 1997, lot 33, where acquired by the present owner.

Droningens Tvaegargade Road, Copenhagen, from 1877;
New York, Noortman and Brod Ltd., Fine Paintings and Drawings, 1981, cat. no. 16, reproduced.

A.G. Moltke, Catalogue des Tableaux du Comte de Moltke, 1885, cat. no. 88 (a pendant to cat. no. 87);
C. Hofstede de Groot, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Painters of the Seventeenth Century, London 1909, vol. II, pp. 308-309, cat. no. 170 (a pendant to cat. no. 82);
K.J. Müllenmeister, Meer und Land im Licht das 17. Jahrhunderts, Bremen 1981, vol. III, cat. no. 547, reproduced;
B. Schumacher, Philips Wouwerman: The Horse Painter of the Golden Age, Doornspijk 2006, vol. I, p. 311, cat. no. A355, vol. II, color plate 48, plate 325. 

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This panel has what appears to be an original join, or at least an old crack, running down the center which has been repaired. The paint layer has been cleaned and varnished. Retouches have been applied along this thin single line, running through the tail of the brown horse but elsewhere there are hardly any retouches. The condition seems to be lovely and we recommend that the picture be hung as is.
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.

The present painting, which has been dated by Schumacher to circa 1655, was made as a pendant to The Impetuous White Horse (see literature, B. Schumacher, cat. no. A329, plate 302) also signed with a monogram.  Both pictures were in the Moltke collection until at least 1885 when they were catalogued as nos. 87 and 88. (A copy of the two Moltke compositions united into one painting was in the Wachtmeister collection in Wanas.) The pendant depicts a rearing piebald stallion held at bay by a mounted rider. It is probable that the 17th century viewer of the pair of paintings was meant to see the subjects as being about man's inability to control the various appetites of beasts and perhaps, by extension, to relate that lack of control to human beings.

According to Frits Duparc, the particular configuration of Wouwerman's monogram with which the artist signed the present painting was used after 1646, which fits with Schumacher's dating of the picture to circa 1655.   Wouwerman was particularly popular in both his own century (producing both cabinet and easel pictures in astonishing numbers) and the following. In fact, although Frans Hals also came from Haarlem, by the end of the 18th century, Samuel Ireland noted that "Haarlem has produced many excellent painters: among whom that truely elegant artist, Philip Wouwerman ranks first." Hals is not even mentioned; his rediscovery would have to wait another two generations.²

 

1  See "Philips Wouwerman 1619-1668", in Oud Holland, vol. 107, 1993, pp. 257-286.
2  See A Picturesque Tour Through Holland, Brabant and Part of France Made in Autumn 1789, 1795, p. 14.