Hendrik van Minderhout

Lord Talbot de Malahide, Malahide Castle;
The Hon. Rose Talbot, her sale and others, London, Christie's, 2 April 1976, lot 64;
Sotheby's London, Old Master Paintings, 7 July 1993, lot 49;
Where purchased by the present collector.

Dublin, Royal Irish Art Union, Exhibition of Old Masters, 1847

O. Miller, unpublished catalogue of The Pictures at Malahide Castle, 1953, no. 67

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 is in very good condition. While it may be slightly dirty, it is certainly very presentable. The canvas has an old lining which is still actively supporting the paint layer. There is an original canvas join running horizontally across the center of the work. This is faintly visible, but it has not caused any problems or given rise to any more than a small amount of retouching. There is a conspicuous absence of retouches in the landscape and foreground. Although there may be some beneath an old varnish, this seems to be unlikely. There is a diagonal restoration measuring about 4 inches long in the sloping hillside beneath the bridge in the lower left, which may attend to a break in the canvas. There do not appear to be any other structural damages. There are only very few and isolated restorations in the sky. The work will respond to cleaning, but it is in lovely condition.
"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."

Although Minderhout, whose nickname was den groenen Ridder van Rotterdam ('the Green knight of Rotterdam'), is better known as a Marine painter, this grand, impressive landscape demonstrates his mastery of the landscape genre.  Most of the artist's landscapes, typically grandiose, baroque and Italianate, are more Flemish in character, and it is likely that these works date from after he settled in Antwerp in 1672.  The present, rather different picture dates from an earlier phase in the artist's career and its quality is therefore even more remarkable.  

While the light in the present painting is distinctly Italianate, the landscape is reminiscent of the Rhine valley, and the building at the extreme left is a capriccio of the Valkhof on the Rhine at Nijmegen.  The architecture of the extensive ruined structure, perhaps an abbey, is also reminiscent of Romanesque ruins in Northern Europe.  There are similarities between it and a ruined Romanesque bridge in a drawing by Minderhout in the Courtauld Institute, which is signed and dated 1662 on the verso.  Similar structures in the environs of Utrecht are recorded in drawings by Herman Saftleven.