- 76
Cornelius David Krieghoff 1815 - 1872
Estimate
100,000 - 150,000 CAD
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Description
- Cornelius David Krieghoff
- Visitors in Winter
- signed and dated 1854 lower left
- oil on canvas
- 43 by 72.5cm
- 17 by 28 1/2 in.
Provenance
Private Collection, United Kingdom
Catalogue Note
Although Krieghoff made his living as an artist chiefly by painting souvenirs for visiting tourists – the plethora of small oils of habitant hunters, lumbermen, and trappers, as well as the Indian moccasin sellers, basket weavers, and others, show that he kept himself busy. However he was able to provide much larger and more elaborate canvases for the upper echelons of the military billeted in Quebec City and Montreal, and for the professional gentry of these two cities.
This fine canvas, for example, was acquired in Quebec but has spent most of its life in Scotland, having been taken back to the United Kingdom in the nineteenth century. It was, doubtless, only a more expensive souvenir than others available, but it was also of a different calibre altogether, as close examination will prove.
Painted in 1854, this canvas has all the careful detail, lovingly rendered, of which Krieghoff at his best was capable. The scene is in full light, filled with all the aspects and characteristics of a rural home. Krieghoff presents us with the log house and the out buildings, the frozen river and the little bridge, the dog, and the sleigh of a neighbour who has come to visit. Even the sky has been painted in a way that is not strictly conventional, but still is varied and eye-catching. There is a narrative here, a story that could be woven into the scene with a little imagination. Yet the impression one takes away after viewing, and despite the ice and snow, is a warm and friendly occasion caught with immense clarity and assured placement of each and every object, near or far.
This fine canvas, for example, was acquired in Quebec but has spent most of its life in Scotland, having been taken back to the United Kingdom in the nineteenth century. It was, doubtless, only a more expensive souvenir than others available, but it was also of a different calibre altogether, as close examination will prove.
Painted in 1854, this canvas has all the careful detail, lovingly rendered, of which Krieghoff at his best was capable. The scene is in full light, filled with all the aspects and characteristics of a rural home. Krieghoff presents us with the log house and the out buildings, the frozen river and the little bridge, the dog, and the sleigh of a neighbour who has come to visit. Even the sky has been painted in a way that is not strictly conventional, but still is varied and eye-catching. There is a narrative here, a story that could be woven into the scene with a little imagination. Yet the impression one takes away after viewing, and despite the ice and snow, is a warm and friendly occasion caught with immense clarity and assured placement of each and every object, near or far.