Emanuel de Witte

Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 30 November 1973, lot 134, to Johnstone;
With Newhouse Galleries, New York, 1976;
Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 19 April 1985, lot 25;
Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's 17 December 1998, lot 4;
With Jack Kilgore and Company, New York;
From whom acquired by the present collector.

The Hague, Koninklijk Schilderijenkabinet Het Mauritshuis, on loan 1993-1998.

Art Journal, vol. 36, no. 2 (Winter 1976-77), p. 102, reproduced;
W.A. Liedtke, Architectural Painting in Delft, Doornspijk 1982, p. 115, cat. no. 237a;
B. Maillet, Intérieurs d'églises: la peinture architecturale des écoles du nord: 1580-1720, Wijnegem 2012, p. 484, cat. no. 1838.

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 painting has been restored. Although the varnish has softened and could be improved, the work can be hung in its current condition. The canvas has a glue lining, which is stabilizing the paint layer. One very often sees abrasion to the dark lines of the window and in the details of the figures in this type of painting, but the paint layer here seems to be particularly healthy and un-abraded. The shadowed areas, which are so important in these compositions, show no weakness or retouches to speak of. The play of light across the lower part of the composition is very effective and well preserved.
"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."

This view of the Oude Kerk, Amsterdam is taken from the north aisle, looking west.  De Witte seems never to have tired of painting this church, with its many chapels and recesses, and the dramatic lighting effects its vast windows imparted on the stonework.  The artist had arrived in Amsterdam around 1652, after a decade in Delft where he had joined the Guild of St. Luke in 1642.  What set De Witte apart from other contemporary painters of architectural interiors was his evocative use of light and shadow which was more important to him than an absolutely faithful rendering of the architecture.  His interiors are often enlivened with figures, giving them an anecdotal charm.  Here we see men, women and children milling about, some pausing in conversation, while a seated woman at right nurses her child.

A similar view of the Oude Kerk by De Witte, signed and dated 1683, is in the Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Vienna and another view, painted from a few steps further forward, was formerly in the collection of Count Grigorii Orlov in St. Petersburg.¹

We are grateful to Dr. Walter A. Liedtke for confirming this painting to be by De Witte, based on firsthand inspection; he dates it to circa 1680.

 

1.  Sold London, Christie’s, 17 December 1999, lot 25.