Salomon van Ruysdael

Joan Fredrick Motte;
His deceased sale, Amsterdam, Philippe van de Schley, 20 August 1794, lot 96, (for fl. 40 to Is. Roelofs);
Gerrit Schimmelpenninck;
His deceased sale, Amsterdam, Roos, 12 July 1819, lot 100 (for fl. 69 to Brondgeest);
C.R.S. Toe Laer;
By whom sold, Amsterdam, De Vries, 28 July 1828, lot 77 (for fl. 82 to de Vries);
Private collection, U.S.A., 1929;
With J. Leger, London, 1931;
On the art market, France;
A. Hartog, The Hague, 1936, and New York, 1952;
With D. Nijstad, The Hague;
With Terry-Engell, London, 1967-68;
With Edward Speelman, London, from whom acquired by the grandparents of the present owners.

The Hague, Gemeentemuseum, Oude Kunst uit Haagsch bezit, 12 December 1936 - 31 January 1937, no. 169;
Utrecht, Centraal Museum, Nederlandse 17e eeuwse Italianiserende landschapschilders, 10 March - 30 May 1965, no. 170.

W. Stechow, Salomon van Ruysdael, Berlin 1975, pp. 126-127, no. 373.

The following condition report is provided by Sarah Walden who is an external specialist and not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting is on a well preserved panel, which has been cradled at some point in the last century. The joints in the panel appear never to have moved or been reglued, and there is little trace of movement in the wood, past or present. The paint surface is beautifully intact. The brushwork of the trees is crisp and rich, including every detail of the foliage against the sky. Even the delicate darks and the reflections in the foreground water, which are frequently thin, here have their full depth and are pure and unworn. The fine brushwork of the distant horizon is also exceptionally vivid and fresh. A faint layer of varnish has wisely been left in these areas in an apparently recent restoration. There are a few small retouchings here and there in the sky, only visible under ultra violet light, but the overall flow of the sky remains finely intact, and the painting virtually throughout is in unusually good condition. This report was not done under laboratory conditions.
"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."

Salomon van Ruysdael's ferry-boat scenes are among the finest and most lyrical works of the artist's mature career and this late work is no exception.  During the 1640s and into the following decade Van Ruysdael painted a series of river views with ferry crossings inspired by depictions of the same subject by Esaias van de Velde and Jan Breughel the Elder.  Van Ruysdael imbued his compositions with greater dramatic interest through his overcrowded ferryboats and animated figures.  In the present painting the boat is carefully balanced with the greater weight of the cattle in the centre and figures seated in the stern.

As with many of Van Ruysdael's ferry crossings here the river bank is seen receding diagonally from the right foreground offset by the verticals of the slender trees in the centre and on the far right of the bank and the ships back left as well as by the strong horizontals of the horizon and ferry boat on the left.  Van Ruysdael has painted thinly on a light coloured ground but in various places, particularly the sky, he has painted thickly and quickly delineating the clouds and horizon in the wet paint.  The river surface is ruffled by a gentle breeze and in the clearing a horse and cart lumber past a partially hidden cottage.  Almost identical staffage is found in the ferry and on the road to the right of the composition in the larger panel in the Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen (see fig. 1).¹

1. Signed, in monogram, and dated 1652, oil on panel, 77.5 by 101 cm..