REINIER VINKELES | The Keizersgracht, Amsterdam, with the entrance to the Shouwburg

With Bernard Houthakker, Amsterdam;
H.E. ten Cate, Almelo/De Lutte, by 1955;
with C.G. Boerner, Düsseldorf, by 1964;
A. Schwarz,
his sale and others, Amsterdam, Sotheby's, 15 November 1994, lot 15,
where acquired by the present owners

Amsterdam, Rijksprentenkabinet, De Verzameling van A. Schwarz, 1968, no. 112;
Boston, St. Botolph Club, A Selection of Dutch 18th Century Drawings and Watercolors from the Gordon Collection, 2003, no. 17

Dr. D. Hannema, Catalogue of the H.E. ten Cate Collection, Rotterdam 1955, no. 308

Hinge mounted in two places along the upper edge to a decorative mount. There are some slight abrasions to the extremities of the sheet and a small repaired tear to the left half of the upper edge and other very small tears to the lower edge. There is some toning to the paper and a little dropback in the watercolor, however the image remains strong throughout this delightful sheet. Sold in a modern 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.
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In 1817, the Dutch biographer and collector Adriaan van der Willigen wrote of Reinier Vinkeles that “Among his early drawings, those in color depicting the entering and exiting of the Amsterdam Theater stand out.” This drawing, alongside its possible pendant, which was itself recently on the London art market,¹ is one of the earliest and largest of a number of drawings by Vinkeles of figures outside the theater on the Keizersgracht canal in Amsterdam. The stage played a central role in the cultural life of the city and as one of the first theatres in Amsterdam, originally founded as the Duytsche Academie in 1617, before being redesigned in 1632 by the architect Jacob van Campen: the Schouwburg, as it came to be known, was an important social and cultural destination. Subsequently rebuilt and enlarged in 1665, to a design more in keeping with the Baroque manner, it is in this guise that Vinkeles has depicted the Schouwburg, in this watercolor, dating to 1760.

Over the course of its 155 year history the various incarnations of the theatre that stood on this site played host to performances of plays by the likes of Shakespeare, Voltaire and Moliere, welcomed Vivaldi to conduct the theatre’s orchestra and received many illustrious visitors, including the Prince of Orange, the Czar of Russia and the King of Poland. In May 1772, twelve years after the present sheet was drawn, the theatre was completely destroyed by fire during the performance of a Flemish operetta. The 17th-century sandstone entrance gate, designed by Jacob van Campen, and the official residence of the theatre, located directly behind, were, however, spared in the fire, and are now home to the boutique Dylan Hotel, and it's Michelin starred Restaurant Vinkeles.

Vinkeles is known to have made several finished versions of a pendant pair of scenes, of various sizes and each with different staffage, depicting the Schouwburg on the Keizersgracht canal; one with figures arriving at the theatre in daylight and the other with people leaving the theatre at night.  Other examples of these views may have been made as single works, rather than pendants. In the drawings of figures arriving at the theatre, such as the present work, Vinkeles has placed the scene in summer, with the trees in full foliage and the artist looking north with the canal at the right, while the nighttime scenes are depicted in winter, with the trees bare and the canal at the left, viewed from the opposite direction.

A pair of such views, considerably smaller than the present sheet, appeared on the French art market in 1999 and are today in the collection of the John and Marine van Vlissingen Art Foundation in the Netherlands,² whilst a slightly later pair of the same scenes, dated 1762, and also smaller than our drawing, are in the collection of the Amsterdam City Archives.<sup>3

1.</sup> See Master Drawings 2017, exhib. cat., London/New York, Stephen Ongpin Fine Art, no. 18, reproduced
^2. Sale, Paris, Tajan, 18 May 1999, lot 115; see Robert-Jan te Rijdt, in Home and Abroad, Dutch and Flemish Landscape Drawings from the John and Marine van Vlissingen Art Foundation, exhib. cat., Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, and Paris, Fondation Custodia, 2015-16, pp. 188-192, nos 81a and 81b
^3. Amsterdam, Gemeente Amsterdam Stadsarchief, inv. nos. Atlas Splitberger 481-482