Salomon van Ruysdael

Charles Sedelmeyer, Vienna;
His sale, Vienna, Künstlerhause, 20 December 1872, lot 146, for fl. 1040 to Sedelmeyer;
With Galerie Sedelmeyer, Paris;
Mme. De Falbe, Luton Hoo, Bedfordshire and London;
Her deceased sale, London, Christie's, 19 May 1900, lot 124, for £220.10s to Colnaghi;
With Colnaghi & Co., London;
H.P. Cunliffe, Chesterford Park, Essex;
By whom sold, London, Christie's, 9 May 1903, lot 143, for £483 to Shepherd;
Mrs. C. Polak-van der Bergh, London, by 1975;
Thence by descent until anonymously sold ("Property of a Private European Collector"), New York, Sotheby's, 28 January 1999, lot 268, unsold;
David Koetser, 2000.

Southampton, Southampton Art Gallery, no. 112, on loan.

A. Graves, Art Sales, vol. III, London 1921, p. 133;
W. Stechow, Salomon van Ruysdael, Berlin 1938, p. 101, cat. no. 286;
W. Stechow, Salomon van Ruysdael, Berlin 1975, p. 111, cat. no. 286.

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 on an oak panel has been cradled on the reverse. There seems to be an original horizontal join in the center of the sky, but this has not been disturbed. The painting is in beautiful condition, with no evident abrasion or staining to the paint layer. Under ultraviolet light, no retouches are visible in the foreground to speak of. The only real retouches in the sky are in the larger clouds in the top half, where a few spots on the right and to a lesser degree on the left of these larger clouds have been added, probably to reduce slight blemishes to the lovely paint layer. The lower left and lower right corners show diagonal lines of restoration, which correspond to original joins in the oak panel where triangular sections of wood were added prior to Ruysdael painting this work. There are similar diagonal lines in the upper left and upper right that correspond to much smaller additions. It is possible that this piece of wood was originally intended for another purpose, perhaps cabinetry, which required an octagonal format. The work could very easily be hung in its current state, and it certainly looks marvelous as is. The join in the lower right corner particularly could be adjusted slightly.
"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 serene river view dates from Ruysdael’s mid-career, a period when he had moved away from the more purely tonal landscapes of his earlier work.  During the 1640s Ruysdael painted many variations on the river scene, a subject he had treated as early as 1631, and by 1650 had made his personal specialty.¹  He also adopted a somewhat more expansive viewpoint for his river landscapes, spreading out and opening up the compositions.  Usually focusing on views of calm inland waters, Ruysdael often depicted the daily activity on these estuaries in compositions often made up of mostly water and sky. 

In the Weldon example we see a boat with fishermen in the foreground and a Dutch schouw, a shallow water vessel designed to ship goods and passengers, at right.  In the distance is the city of Haarlem with the church of the Grote Kerk or St. Bavo seen on the horizon at left.  During this period Ruysdael began to introduce greater use of color in his palette and here he has used subtle bands of pink across the sky which are reflected in the water.

 

1.  See P. Sutton, Masters of 17th-Century Dutch Landscape Painting, exhibition catalogue, Amsterdam, Boston and Philadelphia 1987, p. 472.