Aelbert Cuyp

Possibly Baron Antrobus, Amesbury, Wiltshire;
With Duits and Co., London, by 1967, from whom acquired by
Christian Humann;
By whose heirs (anonymously) sold, New York, Sotheby's, May 16, 1996, lot 31, where acquired by the present owner.

New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1968-1974.

Possibly 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. 94, cat. no. 301;
"A Landscape by Aelbert Cuyp," in Duits Quarterly, no. 12, London 1968, pp. 3-7, reproduced in color (dated to circa 1647);
S. Reiss, Aelbert Cuyp, Boston 1975, p. 88, cat. no. 53, reproduced (as possibly Aelbert Cuyp, circa 1646);
C. van Hasselt, Rembrandt and his century: Dutch drawings of the seventeenth century from the Collection of Frits Lugt, Institut Néerlandais, Paris, 1977-1978, p. 43, under cat. no. 27 (he dates the painting to circa 1647);
Dordrechts Museum, Dordrecht, Aelbert Cuyp en zijn familie, schilders te Dordrecht, 1977-1978, p. 150;
Yapou, 1981, p. 160.

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 made from two sections of oak joined horizontally through the center; no cradles have bee applied to the reverse. The original join is stable and has fairly recently received a thin line of retouching. Elsewhere however the painting is in remarkably good condition with only a spot or two of restoration in the upper left sky and no other retouches apparent. The painting should be hung in its currently beautiful condition.
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.

Dr. Alan Chong has seen the present painting firsthand and will be including it in his catalogue raisonné being published by Yale University Press as by Aelbert Cuyp. Chong dates A Flooded River Landscape to the 1640s.

Reiss, in his monograph on the artist (see Literature below), cites the present painting's relationship with the work of Jacob Gerritsz. Cuyp, Aelbert's father, noting his use of the engravings by the elder Cuyp, particularly the Diversa Animalia (plate 12 for the goat on the far left). Reiss and van Hasselt (see Literature below) both date the painting to 1646-1647.

In addition to these engravings, there are two preparatory drawings by Aelbert Cuyp himself, one for the standing shepherd (in a private collection in Vorden, The Netherlands, and perhaps formerly in the Gatacre-Victor de Stuers collection), and the other for the youth to his left (in the Frits Lugt collection, Paris [inv. 4369]). Although Cuyp seems to have repeatedly made use of his drawings for various motifs throughout his career, both of these black chalk drawings are datable to the second half of the 1640s.

A smaller replica of the present painting seems to have passed through several Christie's sales (March 18, 1898, lot 240; February 12, 1898, lot 132) and a copy is at the Dulwich Picture Gallery (no. 469).