Adriaen Pietersz. van de Venne

Dutch private collection, before 1961;
With Kunsthandel P. de Boer, Amsterdam, 1961;
Alfred Brod, London, 1961.

London, Alfred Brod Gallery, Annual Autumn Exhibition of Paintings of Old Dutch and Flemish Masters, 5 October – 4 November 1961, no. 60;
Providence 1964, no. 24;
New York, Finch College, 1966, no. 40;
Birmingham 1995, no. 22;
New Orleans 1997, no. 56;
Baltimore 1999, no. 56.

Advertisement in Apollo, September 1961, cover illustration;
Advertisement in The Connoisseur, October 1961, p. xxxiv, reproduced;
Providence 1964, cat. no. 24;
New Orleans 1997, pp. 142-144, cat. no. 56, reproduced p. 143;
Baltimore 1999, pp. 130-132, cat. no. 56, reproduced p. 131. 

The following condition report has been provided by Kirsten Younger, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. She can be reached at (212) 288-4370 or kyounger@nyc.rr.com. The painting is in very good condition overall. It is painted on a thick panel support with a horizontal grain direction and beveled edges. On the back of the panel there are some light areas where the surface is slightly rubbed and there are a few scattered old insect holes. The panel is stable and it is in good condition. The finely painted details of the landscape including the figures and animals, the tree branches and the architecture are well preserved. The crowd gathered in front of the building to the right, the figures on the ice and the details of the costumes are painted with minute detail and are in very good condition. There is a small oval paint loss in the dark robe of the figure in the foreground by the pot of fire and there are a few very small paint losses in the sky and along the edges and in the lower part of the composition along the wood grain. The signature, painted in light colored paint at the lower left edge, is in good condition with thinness in parts of some of the letters. The varnish is clear and the surface gloss is even.
"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 oil on panel, signed lower left, is one of Van de Venne’s earliest works.  It likely precedes his first dated paintings, which he completed in 1614 and 1615, and it is a beautiful and captivating example of the winter landscapes produced in the early 17^th century.¹  This delightful and lively composition, with its expansive tonal landscape populated by animated figures partaking in the various pleasures that characterize the winter season, is a testament to van de Venne’s claim that he “paint[ed] paintings for everyone’s enjoyment.”²

Although the larger, elegantly dressed figures in the foreground were possibly painted by another contemporary hand, the landscape and background figures are quite typical of Van de Venne’s early works.  According to Cornelis de Bie, the artist’s biographer, Van de Venne possibly learned the basic principles of miniature painting from Simon de Valck.  Such a technique suited the small-scale roundel format, and Van de Venne created a number of these during his early career, including a pair of roundels depicting Summer and Winter (Private Collection, Germany).³  These works, also painted on an intimate scale, bear notable formal and visual similarities to the Weldon composition.  Extensive landscapes recede into the distance, finely painted figures imbue each scene with an extraordinary vitality, and large repoussoir trees on the left anchor both Winter scenes.  Furthermore, the cloaked woman in the lower left of the Weldon painting, who warms her hands over a fire and who does not seem to be one of the larger figures added by the contemporary hand, appears in nearly the same place and posture to the Winter roundel in the private collection. 

An infrared image of the present work reveals an incomplete underdrawing (fig. 1).  Loose and sketchy lines have been used to delineate the figures on the ice and the building near the bridge.  Moreover, a number of faint, straight lines not associated with any specific architectural or figural elements appear throughout the scene, possibly used to help lay out the composition.  Similar underdrawings appear in other works by the artist from the same period, such as The Allegory of the Twelve Years' Truce (1616, Musée du Louvre, Paris, inv. no. 1924).⁴

Edwin Buijsen (Mauritshuis/RKD), who is preparing a dissertation on the works of Adriaen Pietersz. van de Venne, has confirmed the attribution of this work after firsthand inspection and has suggested a possible date of execution before 1614/1615.  He has also proposed that the larger figures in the foreground were possibly added by a another hand.  We are grateful for Edwin Buijsen's assistance in preparing this catalogue entry. 

1. The Weldon painting shares visual similarities with a work by Van de Venne's contemporary, Hendrick Avercamp: A Winter Scene with Skaters Near a Castle dated to 1608-09 (National Gallery, London, inv. no. NG1346).

2. In Dutch: Men schilderij tot iedereens behagen. This quote appeared in Zeeusche Mey-clacht, the artist’s contribution to a collection of poetry published in Middleburg in 1623.  See L. Bol, Adriaen Pietersz. Van de Venne: Painter and Draughtsman, Doornspijk 1989, p. 20 and p. 21, under notes 15 and 25.

3. See Bol, op.cit., pp. 16-17, cat. nos. 5A and 5B, reproduced.  The pair was sold at Sotheby’s, London, 30 November 1983, lot 71.

4. Ibid. p. 38, cat. no. 27, reproduced.  The similarities in the underdrawings was noted by Edwin Buijsen (Mauritshuis/RKD) in private correspondence.