JACOBUS BUYS | A set of twelve representations of the months

Pieter Cornelis Hasselaar, sale, Amsterdam, Haverkorn, 28 November 1797, Kunstboek A, Nr.17 (fl.325);
Jan de Groot, sale, Amsterdam, van der Schley/Vinkeles, 10 December 1804, Kunstboek C, Nr.11;
Abraham Salm Jacz., sale, Amsterdam, Roos/Engelberts, 7 March 1859, lot 298 (fl.71);
Rompel-Nijland, sale, Amsterdam, 17 April 1908, lot 54;
Dr. J.H. Smidt van Gelder, "Hartekamp," Heemstede, sale, London, Christie's, 23 April 1970, lot 111 (2,400gns., to Duits);
with Brod Gallery, London, 1970;
sale, Amsterdam, Sotheby's, 4 November 2003, lot 111;
with Johan Bosch van Rosenthal, Amsterdam,
from whom acquired by the present owners in 2004

Thieme-Becker, Allgemeines Kunstlerlexicon, vol. V, p. 309;
De Twaalf Maanden, Tekeningen van Jacobus Buys, met eenige Mededelingen door E.W. Moes, Amsterdam KOG, 1908;
V. Avereest, 'De Twaalf Maanden van Jacobus Buys,' De Cicerone, I, 1918, pp. 312-6;
J.W. Niemeijer, Cornelis Troost 1696-1750, Assen 1973, p. 120 n. 2, pp. 345-6, under cats. 669 T and 670 T, pp. 390-3, under cat. 879 Ta, d and g, p. 423

All twelve drawings are individually hinge mounted to modern cream mounts. All twelve drawings remain in predominantly very good condition with only some very minor signs of foxing in places. The watercolour medium employed by Buys throughout each sheet retains much of its original, vibrant color. There is evidence of some minor toning to the extremities of some sheets, due in part to the manner in which they were previously mounted.
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.

The tradition of sets of related images depicting the seasons or months of the year has its origins in medieval manuscript illumination, but became increasingly popular in the context of paintings, drawings and prints in the sixteenth century.  During the 1550s and '60s, Pieter Bruegel the Elder made his famous series of paintings and print designs with seasonal subjects, and in 1580-81 Hans Bol executed the wonderful set of twelve circular drawings of the months, now in the Boijmans van Beuningen Museum, Rotterdam¹, which seems to be the earliest set of drawings of the months to have survived intact.   Although such themed sets of images continued to be produced during the seventeenth century, their popularity does, however, seem to have waned somewhat at that time, only to undergo a great revival in Dutch art of the eighteenth century.  Since the majority of drawings and watercolours from this period that represent the months of the year are rather complete and decorative, many such sets must have been separated over the years, but nonetheless a certain number have remained together, including the present drawings by Buys and also the second set of watercolours of the months, by Hendrik Meijer, which are lot 120 in the present sale.  Other complete sets to have survived include those by Simon Fokke (1765), H.P. Schouten (1789) and Jacob Cats (1791), while at least nine drawings from a 1741 set by Buys' teacher, Cornelis Troost are also known.²  

Buys drew a great deal of inspiration for his compositions of this type from the works of Troost, which is not, perhaps suprising, since following his initial training with Cornelis Pronck, he became Troost's pupil - the only one, in fact, that the older artist ever had apart from members of his own family.  For the most part, Troost trained Buys to produce pastel portraits, although this was not a medium in which he subsequently was to work all that much.  It was, perhaps, Troost's theatrical and genre subjects that attracted Buys most, and although the technique and colouring of these watercolours owes more to Buys' first teacher, Pronck, their conception, choice of subject-matter and compositions reflect very strongly Troost's interests in these areas. 

Perhaps the most unusual aspect of Buys's depictions of the months is the fact that the artist has chosen to represent each month not by the type of rural or agricultural scene appropriate to the month in question that are typical of series of this sort, but instead with images of seasonal festivals or activities in town life. January, for example, is represented by the popular festival of Drie Koningen (Twelfth Night), exploiting to the full the possibilities for a picturesque and theatrical night scene.  Likewise, whereas artists such as Schouten and Cats chose ice scenes for the representations of February in their cycles of the months, both Troost and Buys chose instead to depict Shrove Tuesday. September, November and December are also here all represented by fairs and festivals (Kermis, St. Martin's Day Bonfires, and Sinterklaas, respectively).  Even when months are represented by agriculture-related subjects (July - Cherrytime, August - Fruitmarket) these subjects have been located in the outskirts of the town.   

Highly original in their varied and imaginative compositions, and capturing so much of the liveliness of Dutch festivals and daily life, it is very fortunate that this fascinating and important series of drawings of the months has, unlike the set of drawings of the months by Troost, survived intact and complete.

The titles and subjects of the twelve compositions are as follows:

January: Drie Koningenavond ('Twelfth Night')
February: Vastenavond ('Shrove Tuesday')
March: Palmpasen ('Palm Sunday')
April: Aprilgrap ('April Fools' Day')
May: Verhuisdag ('Moving Day')
June: Pinksterbloem ('Whitsun flower or Cuckoo-flower')
July: Kersentijd ('Cherry Time')
August: Fruitmarkt ('Fruit Market')
September: Kermis ('Fair' or 'Festival')
October: Jachtsgeschenk ('Hunting Trophies')
November: Sint-Maartensvuren ('Saint Martin's Day Fire')
December: Sinterklaasavond ('Feast of Saint Nicholas')

^1.  Inv. nos. MB 2005/T2 a-l; sold, from the Koenigs Collection, New York, Sotheby's, 23 January 2001, lot 11
^2.  See Niemeijer, loc.cit.