Hendrick de Meyer

In the possession of the family of the present owner since at least the end of the nineteenth century.

"The following condition report has been provided by Henry Gentle, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The oak panel is made up of three planks( two joins) of uneven width. Two joins are visible to the paint surface and are stable. There is one small split upper right. The paint layer is stable and in a good condition. There is some obviously discoloured retouching to the sail of the boat far left although the extent of the damage here is not certain as it is not obvious. Under U-V examination no restoration is visible, however, I believe there is much earlier restoration present, partly discoloured, that masks a paler tonality to the sky and disguises some horizontal wood grain. Further examination under studio conditions would be necessary to confirm this. There is a discoloured varnish over the paint surface and its removal would improve the tonality. 19thC gilt frame in good condition."
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

This is one of several views of the river Maas before Dordecht painted by De Meyer and his contemporaries. A comparable painting by De Meyer, signed in monogram and in which  a very similar ferry appears, was formerly with Brian Koetser in London,¹ and another, dated 1648, was sold in these Rooms, 8 April 1987, lot 60. A similar work by De Meyer's contemporary C.W. Schut, about whom little else is known, is in Hamburg, Kunsthalle.²

The prototype for this and other similar views by De Meyer is probably Simon de Vlieger's signed and dated painting of 1649 in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, which shows Admiral and Governor Frederik Hendrik II of Orange (1583-1647) visiting the Dutch inshore fleet off Dordrecht in June 1646.³

1. For which see L.J. Bol. Die Holländische Marinemalerei des 17. Jahrhunderts, Brunswick 1973, p. 269, reproduced fig. 272.
2. Ibid., p. 270, fig. 274.
3. W. Prohaska, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. The Paintings, London 1997, p. 85, reproduced.