Nicolaes Pietersz. Berchem

Jonas Witsen, Member of the College of Amsterdam;
His posthumous sale, Terwen... and de Bosch, Amsterdam, 16 August 1790 (and successive days), lot 4 (for 901 florins to Fouquet, possibly on behalf of Robit).
M. Robit;
His sale, Paillet and Delaroche, Paris, 12 May 1801, lot 9 (for 3,411 francs to Jauffret, on behalf of Bryan).
Michael Bryan;
By whom sold privately from his Pall Mall Gallery, for 300 gns. to
Sir Simon Haughton Clarke, 9th Bt., Oakhill, Herts;
By whom possibly offered, London, Christie's, 14 May 1802, lot 17 (with probable catalogue annotation as landscape format, 'Landscape, Cattle and Figures...A pleasing scene, in a warm tone of colouring' (unsold, but marked as sold for 35 gns. to Dermer);
Simon Haugton Clarke posthumous sale, London, Christie's, 8 May 1840, lot 42 (as 'Roman Ruins near a Bridge, over a Cascade, with peasants and cattle, and mountainous distance; a brilliant evening sky illumines the composition; upright') for 230 gns. to Buchanan;
William Buchanan (1777-1864);
Edward Noel Farnham Loyd (1881-1936), Shaw Hill, Melksham, Wilts.;
His posthumous sale, London, Christie's,  30 April 1937, lot 89 (for 44 gns. to Colnaghi);
With P & D. Colnaghi & Co., London;
Anonymous sale, New York, Parke-Bernet, 16 November 1949, lot 12;
A.E.H. Digby;
Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 20 June 1951, lot 1 (for £210);
With Alfred Brod Gallery, London;
Herbert Girardet, Kettwig, by 1970; 
Anonymous sale ("The Property of a Gentleman"), London, Christie's, July 9, 1999, lot 9;
There purchased by Bernard Palitz.

London, British Institution, 1823, no. 66;
Cologne, Wallrat-Richartz Mueum, Sammlung Herbert Girardet, 1970, no. 4. 

W. Buchanan, Memoirs of Painting, etc., London 1824, vol. II, p. 39, cat. no. 9, p. 68, no. 72 (where described as 'of a striking effect, and at the same time, a light and beautiful handling'.);
J. Smith, A Catalogue Raisonné, etc., vol. V, London 1834, pp. 41-2, cat. no. 114;
J. Smith, A Catalogue Raisonné, Supplement, IX, London 1842, p. 608, cat. no. 44;
C. Hofstede de Groot, Verzeichnis der Werke, etc., IX, Stuttgart 1926, p. 244, cat. no. 714. 

The following condition report has been provided by Karen Thomas of Thomas Art Conservation LLC., 336 West 37th Street, Suite 830, New York, NY 10018, 212-564-4024, info@thomasartconservation.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. Overall the picture is in excellent condition. The paint layer is beautifully preserved and the few small retouches are concentrated near the edges. The vertically grained wood panel retains its original verso surface with bevels around the perimeter. The aged varnish is slightly discolored but displays an even glossy surface. Although removal of the varnish may slightly brighten the picture, particularly in the sky, the painting can be displayed and enjoyed in its present state.
"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."

Berchem was a member of the second generation of Dutch Italianate painters, and his oeuvre is extensive. While known predominately as a landscapist, he was also an accomplished figure painter, as well as a supreme draftsman.  The son of Pieter Claesz., Berchem was exposed to the practice of painting at an early age through the instruction of his father.  By 1642, Berchem was a member of the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke, a period during which he adhered mainly to the native Dutch landscape style through his depiction of the Netherlandish countryside.  Berchem was influenced by a number of his contemporaries, and scholars have suggested that he studied alongside Jan van Goyen, Claes Moeyaert, Pieter de Grebber, Jan Wils and Jan Baptist Weenix.  It has been suggested that Berchem traveled to Rome in 1642 with Weenix, although no evidence exists to support this claim.  It is more likely, however, that he went to Rome sometime between 1651 and 1653, and it was there that he became captivated by Italian landscapes.     

The present picture, an Italianate river landscape, reflects Berchem's embrace of the Italianate style, with the saturated palette and the brilliance of the light highlighting the panoramic Italian countryside.  An element of tranquility permeates the foreground of the work: the artist's careful depiction of the elegant figures and the animals in the foreground creates a subtle balance with the imposing landscape.  

A note on the Provenance:
This work formed part of two important nineteenth century British collections. The first was put together by Michael Bryan (1757-1821) the noted art writer and author of A Biographical and Critical Dictionary of Painters and Engravers (published in 1816). Bryan served as the agent for the sale of Duke of Bridgewater's collection, which he exhibited in his own gallery in 1798. Simon Clarke, an important commercial operator and collector in London at the time, purchased the painting from that exhibition, and it remained in his collection until his posthumous sale in 1840 in sequence with a Berchem now hanging in the National Gallery, London (inv. NG820). The painting was purchased in Clarke's sale by William Buchanan, one of the preeminent dealers in London in the early 19th century. Buchanan owned and sold various masterpieces throughout his career, including Bellini's Saint Francis in Ecstasy (Frick Collection, New York), van Dyck's Charles I in Three Positions (British Royal Collection), Rubens' An Autumn Landscape with a View of Het Steen (National Gallery, London), as well as the sum total of the Dutch and Flemish collections of the Prince de Talleyrand.