Jan Josefsz. van Goyen

Sir George Houston-Boswell, circa 1930;
Anonymous sale ("The Property of a Lady"), London, Christie's, April 23, 1993, lot 23 (as 'with indistinct remains of a monogram[?] and date[?]');
With Robert Noortman, from whom purchased in 1994 by the present collector.

H.-U. Beck, Jan van Goyen 1596-1656, vol. 1, Katalog der Zeichnungen, Amsterdam 1973, p. 287, under no. 846/71;
H.-U. Beck, Jan van Goyen 1596-1656, vol. 2, Katalog der Gemälde, Amsterdam 1973, p. 282, no. 624, reproduced (as Bezeichnet?[signed?]);
Noortman Master Paintings, 100 Master Paintings, Maastricht 2003, no. 33;
S. Paarlberg, 'Wachthuis van Jan van Goyen in langdurig bruikleen,' in Dordrechts Museum Bulletin, 2006, no. 1, p. 11, reproduced.

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 is un-cradled and in excellent condition. The paint layer is stable and the wood is flat. The retouches are almost entirely focused in the upper right corner, above the join in the panel and situated approximately four inches from the top edge. The blue in this corner is slightly worn and the join in the panel has required some retouching. Elsewhere there is a conspicuous lack of restoration or damage, which provides one with a rare glimpse of a 17th century picture in very good state. The retouches across the top edge, above the panel join, are very isolated and nicely applied. There are no other retouches of note.
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.

Jan van Goyen painted the city and environs of Dordrecht on numerous occasions, and in this view, he shows the outskirts of city from the south.  It depicts Dordtsche Kil, a canal connecting the Oude Maas river with an estuary known as the Hollands Diep.  In the foreground left is the Oude Wachthuis (Old Guard House) so named because it was the first of three guardhouses built to protect the city.  Visible in the distance just right of center is the Grote Kerk of Dordrecht. 

The inspiration for the painting was apparently a trip that Van Goyen made in around 1648, following the Peace of Munster, which marked the end of the 80 Years War.  The end of the fighting allowed easier travel between the northern and southern Netherlands, so Van Goyen set off for Antwerp and Brussels, which he had never seen.  He recorded his journey and various side trips to the cities and towns running between Dordrecht and Brussels in a sketch book now in the Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen in Dresden (see literature, Beck , Katalog der Zeichnungen, Z846).

On one leaf of the book he drew a view of the Oude Wachthuis from essentially the same position as in the present work (see fig. 1).  The sketch, however, is in two parts, the lower showing the Wachthuis at the left and shore beyond.  It appears that Van Goyen ran out of room while trying to capture the meandering shoreline, and had to compress the composition, cramming in the navigation pole at the far right.  He then re-drew the right-hand part of scene above, bringing the houses forward and extending the view toward the city beyond. The two parts together form the basis for the present work. 

Van Goyen painted three other views of the Wachthuis from roughly the same vantage point - one dated 1652, with Douwes, Amsterdam, in 1977 (Beck 558A), another formerly in the Frank Bennett collection, London (Beck 586) and a third dated 1649, recently given to the Dordrecht Museum (Beck 534A). 

The Oude Wachthuis is a work from Van Goyen's later period, when the predominant browns of his landscape began to give way to a more naturalistic representation.  He sets the gathering clouds against the blue sky, brushing them in with broad strokes of grey and white, but letting the warm tone of the ground show through, to suggest a reflection of the sun's rays.  There are suggestions of colour throughout, whether in the clothes of the fishermen, the flags and sails of the boats or the buildings themselves.  He paints the roof of the guardhouse in a subtle variety of hues, while at the same time suggesting the rough texture through his use of heavy impasto.  Perhaps most surprising is van Goyen's handling of the trees in the middle ground, where he has created the foliage in quick strokes of blue and brown, so abstractly conceived that they suggest the paintings of the French masters some two hundred years later.