Abraham Bloemaert

Kommenzienrat Hans Mez, Freiburg;
His sale, Cologne, Kunsthaus am Museum, 26 October 1963, lot 6;
Alfred Brod, London, 1964.

London, Alfred Brod Gallery, Annual Spring Exhibition of Old Master Paintings, 12 March – 24 April 1964, no. 34;
Providence 1964, no. 1A;
New York, Finch College 1966, no. 2;
New Orleans 1997, no. 5;
Baltimore 1999, no. 5.

Weltkunst, 15 October 1963, p. 31, reproduced;
M. Roethlisberger, Abraham Bloemaert and his Sons. Paintings and Prints, Doornspijk 1993, vol. 1, pp. 326-7, cat. no. 512, p. 308, under cat. no. 478, p. 353, under cat. no. 572, reproduced vol. 2, fig. 696;
G. Seelig, Abraham Bloemaert (1566-1651): Studien zur Utrechter Malerei um 1620, Berlin 1997, p. 303, cat. no. B179;       
J.A. Spicer, in Masters of Light. Dutch Painters in Utrecht during the Golden Age, exhibition catalogue, Baltimore 1997, under cat. no. 18, and pp. 184, 415, note 14;
New Orleans 1997, pp. 12-14, cat. no. 5, reproduced p. 13;
Baltimore 1999, pp. 12-14, cat. no. 5, reproduced p. 13.

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 probably slightly dirty. The paint layer shows only a few tiny retouches around the window of the dovecote, in one of the dark pieces of wood beneath the dovecote and beneath the standing goat. It is possible that some of the slightly pink color in the sky, particularly on the left, may be non-original underneath an old varnish. The work could be hung in its current state and is in good 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."

Roethlisberger dates this lovely, rustic scene to the early 1630s and considers it one of Bloemaert’s mature works (see literature).  Here, a dovecote—or a structure that holds doves and pigeons—towers over a bucolic farmyard, and its solid structure pleasingly contrasts with an undulating landscape below and billowing clouds behind it.  While enlivened by a few human and animal figures, the present work suggests no overt narrative, establishing it as a rare, pure landscape within Bloemaert’s body of work.