Hendrik van Cleve III

Thomas Bodkin, Dublin;
His sale, London, Sotheby's, 11 November 1959, lot 56 (as by Joos de Momper and Sebastian Vrancx), for £720 to Betts.

Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Europalia: Splendeurs d'Espagne et les Villes Belges 1500-1700, September - December 1985, cat. no. A7 (as attributed to Marten van Cleve the Younger).

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This work is on an oak panel with no reinforcements on the reverse. The painting is slightly dirty at present, but some thinness within the architecture and shadowed areas of landscape surrounding the architecture will become more apparent if and when it is cleaned. This is not to say that the work will not improve once it is accurately retouched, but there is noticeable abrasion, particularly within the architecture.
"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."

The composition is derived from an engraving for Frans Hogenberg's popular Civitatis Orbis Terrarum.