Jan Josefsz. van Goyen

With Johnson Neale, the album bought on the Continent in the 19th Century;
T. Mark Hovell, F.R.I.C.S., London;
anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 3 July 1918, lot 124 (the entire album);
with P. and D. Colnaghi & Co., London;
A.W.M. Mensing,
his sale, Amsterdam, Mensing/Muller, 27 April 1937, lot 218 (the entire album);
A. Mayer, The Hague and New York;
Dr. Karl Lilienfeld, New York, 1965

H.-U. Beck, Jan van Goyen 1596-1656, Amsterdam 1972, vol. I, p. 297, no. 847/72

Hinged at left and right of upper edge. Minor losses at extreme edge of upper left and right corners. Slight foxing. Chalk still strong. Sold in giltwood frame.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This drawing is a sheet from a sketchbook used by Van Goyen during the course of a journey he made in 1650-51 from his home town of Leiden to the German border around Nijmegen, Kleve and Arnhem, before returning to Amsterdam and the surrounding area.  The location depicted here is almost certainly in the lower Rhine valley, and the distant church spire is most probably that of Emmerich. In common with many Dutch landscape artists of the 17th century, Van Goyen made a number of sketching tours, although he did not stray as far from home as some of his contemporaries and the journey of 1650-51 appears to have been one of the most extensive that he undertook.  During his travels, Van Goyen filled several sketchbooks with rapid studies of landscapes such as this, as well as buildings, animals and figures, which he then used as the basis for elements in his oil paintings and also in his more elaborate, finished drawings, composed and executed in the studio.   

It cannot now be ascertained how many sheets the sketchbook of 1650-51 originally contained.  Up to 190 sheets remained in the album at the time of the 1937 sale, but others must have been removed prior to that date, and the counting of the sheets seems in any case not to have been precisely undertaken (at the time of the 1918 sale, Campbell Dodgson gave the number of sheets as only 179).  In any case, those remaining together in 1937 were separated by Dr. Lilienfeld after he acquired them in 1957.