Joos de Momper

F.W. Saunders;
By whom (anonymously) sold, London, Sotheby's, 14 December 1977, lot 41;
Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 11 December 1981, lot 96;
With R. Noortman, Maastricht, by 2000;
Acquired from the above by the present owner.

K. Ertz, Josse de Momper der Jüngere, Freren 1986, pp. 153-4, reproduced fig. 140, p. 504, no. 146.

The canvas has a firm relining which has not overly flattened the paint surface. The paint surface is secure and in good condition under an even, if slightly yellowed varnish. There are a number of old discoloured retouchings visible to the naked eye in the sky and these are confirmed under UV light which also reveals scattered, less numerous retouchings elsewhere. Offered in a stained wood and gilt frame in good condition.
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Ertz dates this picture to De Momper's middle period from 1610-1620, although he does not rule out a date in the early 1620s.¹ It was at this date that Joos de Momper painted most of his finest works. One of the most prolific landscape painters in the Netherlands in the first quarter of the seventeenth century, his work is essential for the development of landscape painting away from the mannerist traditions of the sixteenth century towards the greater naturalism of the seventeenth century. This painting can be compared to a work in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux, which shows a similar composition, albeit in reverse, with the mountains on the left, instead of the right.²  It has been suggested that the figures are the work of De Momper's occasional collaborator, and fellow townsman, Hans Jordaens III (circa 1595-1643). Another example of this collaboration is The conversion of Paul, in the Niedersächsische Landesgalerie, Hannover.³

1. Ertz, op. cit, 1986, p. 154.
2. Ibid., pp. 152-4, fig. 139, p. 478, no. 72. Inv. no. 220 A, oil on panel, 45 x 74 cm., with figures by Jan Brueghel the Elder.
3. U. Wegener, Die holländischen und flämischen Gemälde des 17. Jahrhunderts , Niedersächsisches Landesmuseum, Hannover 2000, pp. 259-61, inv. no. KA-52/1958, on panel, 71 x 122.5 cm.