Meindert Hobbema

Probably sold Amsterdam, Fouquet;
Probably sold London, Langford, February 10-11, 1773, lot 66;
Cunliffe family;
Thence by inheritance to Sir Drummond Smith, first baronet (married the heiress of Sir Ellis Cunliffe);
Sir Joshua Smith;
Sir Charles Cunliffe Smith;
Sir Drummond Cunliffe Smith;
Sir Drummond Hamilton Spencer-Smith;
With Duits, London, 1957;
Private Collection, Belgium;
With Noortman Master Paintings, Maastricht, from whom acquired by the present owner in 2002.

On loan to the Exeter Museum, 1947-1956.

The Art Quarterly, vol. XXI, Summer 1958, p. 219, reproduced p. 221(as, incorrectly, owned by the Toledo Museum of Art);
W. Stechow, Dutch Landscape Painting of the Seventeenth Century, London 1966, pp. 76-77, footnote 50, p. 484, cat. no. 150, reproduced fig. 150 (as, incorrectly, owned by the Toledo Museum of Art of Art).

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 painting has been recently restored and framed and should be hung in its current condition. The large panel is cradled on the reverse. The joins in the panel are well secured. One join is slightly visible approximately three inches from the top edge. The other join is not visible. The paint layer has been cleaned, varnished and very well and accurately retouched. The retouches address some of the predictable graininess in the sky and although some indication of this wood grain is visible, it is not disturbing. There may be a few retouches in the darker colors of the landscape but they do not show readily under ultraviolet light and it seems unlikely that there are any of consequences. In general the condition is excellent.
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.

Meindert Hobbema was baptized in Amsterdam on October 31, 1638.  Although his father's name was Lubbert Meyndertsz., he adopted the surname Hobbema.  Hobbema's earliest dated landscape is of 1658 and his work from the same period shows the influence of the Haarlem landscape painters, Cornelis Vroom (1591/92-1661) and Salomon van Ruysdael (circa 1601-1670).  Soon, however, Hobbema's foremost source of inspiration became the work of another Haarlem master, Jacob van Ruisdael (1628/29-1682), who by June 1657 had settled in Amsterdam.  In fact, Hobbema worked in the latter's studio, as is evidenced by a document of July 1660, in which Ruisdael states that Hobbema by that time had been his pupil for some two years.  In 1668 the artist became one of the city of Amsterdam's wijnroeiers, officials responsible for the measuring of wine barrels and the determining of their alcoholic content.

Hobbema based his earlier compositions almost invariably on the inventions of his master.  A whole series of Watermills take their direct origin from Ruisdael's painting of 1661 in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.  Some of these are dated 1662.  They have a dark brown, somewhat glossy appearance, which is characteristic of his work of this period.  The present painting is undated but according to Stechow¹, undoubtedly of 1662.

 

1 See Literature, p. 77