Abraham Pietersz. van Calraet

Auxbrevis, Namur and Liege, their coat of arms (which dates from the 17th century) in a red seal on the back of the panel;
Charles John West, Norwich;
His sale, London, Christie's, March 21, 1835, lot 53, for £34/13s, to Lockhart;
With Leonard Koetser Gallery, London, by 1972;
William M.J. Russell, Amsterdam, by 1977;
With Waterman Gallery, Amsterdam (date unknown)¹
With Galerie J. Kraus, Paris, by 1978;
Fom whom purchased by the present collector circa 1978.

London, Leonard Koetser Gallery, 1972, no. 34;
Amsterdam, William M.J. Russell, 1977;
Dordrecht, Dordrechts Museum, Aelbert Cuyp en zijn familie, schilders te Dordrecht, 1978, no. 26;
Paris, Galerie J. Kraus, Tableaux et dessins des maîtres anciens hollandais et flamands, 1978, no. 6;
Birmingham, Alabama, Birmingham Museum of Art, The Golden Age of Dutch Painting, 1995, no. 5;
New Orleans, New Orleans Museum of Art, In the Eye of the Beholder:  Northern Paintings from the Collection of Henry H. Weldon, 1997, no. 12;
Baltimore, Walters Art Gallery, An Eye for Detail:  17th-Century Dutch and Felmish Paintings from the Collection of Henry H. Weldon, June 20 - September 5, 1999, no. 11.

J. Smith, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish and French Painters, London 1829-42, Supplement,  no. 43 (as Cuyp);
C. Hofstede de Groot, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters,  London 1908-1928,  vol. 2, no. 574 (as Cuyp);
The Burlington Magazine, vol. xxv (June 1978), reproduced (as Cuyp);
A. D. Chong, Aelbert Cuyp and the Meanings of Landscape, unpublished dissertation, New York University 1992, p. 511, no. Calr. 15 (as Calraet);
N.T. Minty, In the Eye of the Beholder:  Northern Paintings from the Collection of Henry H. Weldon, exhibition catalogue, New Orleans Museum of Art 1997, no. 12, reproduced ( as Calraet);
N.T. Minty and J. Spicer, An Eye for Detail:  17th-Century Dutch and Flemish Paintings from the Collection of Henry H. Weldon, exhibition catalogue, Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, no. 11, reproduced (as Calraet).

The following condition report has been provided by Nancy Kreig, 52 E. 82nd Street, New York 212-734-8330, nancykreig@nyc.rr.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The painting is in overall good condition, characterized by a thick layer of discolored natural resin varnish with only minor retouching. The wood support is comprised of four joined panels, all in stable condition. The central panel which depicts the horse is the first. The other three panels appear to have been added later. The handling of the paint in the landscape portion of the side panels is different than that of the central panel as is the solubility. Although the paint layer in the sky appears to be continuous, examination under the binocular microscope shows that it is painted over another sky in the central panel, perhaps consisting of smalt blue. This is most evident around the contours of the horse. Removal of the discolored varnish will aid in determining whether the artist himself has made these modifications or whether they were added in the same campaign as teh Cuyp signature.
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.

Abraham van Calraet was a painter and woodcarver from Dordrecht.  He is recorded in Houbraken as a painter of figures and fruit,  but is known today primarily for his paintings of horses.  For more than two centuries his work was virtually unknown, for it was subsumed into the oeuvre of his more famous colleague Aelbert Cuyp.  Abraham Bredius first began to establish a body of work for Calraet when he distinguished a group of still lifes with the monogram A.C. traditionally considered as Cuyp and attributed them to Calraet.²  More recently, Alan Chong, in his monograph on Cuyp, attributed a group of 59 paintings to Abraham van Calraet, among them this Portrait of a Horse in a Landscape, but considered another seventeen as doubtful attributions.³ 

This portrait-like presentation is characteristic of Calraet, but unknown to Cuyp, whose horses are always in the company of people.  We see the horse against a brightly lit sky, with cumulus clouds piled up behind him.  He is shown turned three-quarters to the left, to best show his features.  He is a type favored by Calraet, and we see him again in a painting of Horses in a Marsh Landscape in a private collection in the U.K.⁴  Rather than depicting the elegant mounts of the aristocracy Calraet favored somewhat heavier, working animals.  The horse here is a sturdy animal, but alert and well-kept, his ears pricked up and coat gleaming in the sun. 

1  A. Chong (see under Literature, p. 511) lists the Waterman Gallery last in his provenance for this painting, but according to information provided by the present owner, they purchased the work from Kraus.
2  A. Bredius, 'The Still-Life Painter Abram Calraet,' The Burlington Magazine, vol. xxx (1917), pp. 172-79.
3  See under Literature, pp. 502-529
4  See N.M Minty 1999 under Literature, p. 31, fig. 1.