Gerrit Adriaensz. Berckheyde

With Malmedé, Cologne, 1937;
Private Collection, London, 1968;
With de Beer, London, 1976;
With E.M. Bier, London, 1979;
In the family of the present owners since 1979.

C. Lawrence, Gerrit Adrianensz, Berckheyde (1638-1698), Ghent 1991, p. 89, footnote 18c.

"The following condition report has been provided by Henry Gentle, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The canvas is lined and the paint is stable, although raised in some areas. There is a scattering of restorations in the sky , visible under U-V, along with reduction of some of the dark cracking and minor paint losses. There are also some restorations along the bottom edge replacing paint losses. Overall, the painting is in good condition and its tonality would improve from the removal of the discoloured varnish. Dark painted frame with gold sight edge-Some chips."
"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."

We are grateful to Dr. Cynthia Lawrence for confirming the attribution and suggesting a date of execution in the 1680s, on the basis of photographs. She has also kindly pointed out that this painting may have been the pendant of a View of St. Gereon, of broadly similar dimensions, also sold by Malmedé in 1937. Two Cologne or Rhineland views are mentioned by H. Dattenberg as sold in Amsterdam in 1763 and again in 1808, with measurements similar to those of the present picture. The fountain and crenellated wall are identical to those in a painting from the St. Maur sale, London, Christie's, 10th July 1925, lot 53. The architectural motif of the archway used as a framing element also appears in Berckheyde's View of the Grote Markt, Haarlem, in the Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, Massachussetts.²

1. H. Dattenberg, Niederrheinansichten der holländischer Künstler des 17. Jahrhunderts, Dusseldorf, 1967, cat. nos. 33, 34, 36.
2. C. Lawrence, under Literature, reproduced fig. 25.