JOHAN BARTHOLD JONGKIND | Lever de lune à Overschie

Théophile Bascle, Bordeaux (and sold, his sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, April 12-14, 1883, lot 46, as Schiedam: Effet de lune) 
M. Lucas (acquired at the above sale) 
Acquired in the early twentieth century (probably from E.J. Wisselingh & Co., Amsterdam)

Paris, Galerie Durand-Ruel, May 15- June 10, 1899, no. 29, (as Clair de Lune sur un Canal, lent by M. Lucas) 

Étienne Moreau-Nélaton, Jongkind raconté par lui-même, Paris, 1918, p. 144, no. 46 (as Schiedam; effet de lune) 
Victorine Hefting, Jongkind, sa vie, son oeuvre, son époque, Paris, 1975, p. 113, no. 184, illustrated 
Adolphe Stein, Sylvie Brame, François Lorenceau and Janine Sinizergues, eds., Jongkind, Catalogue critique de l’oeuvre, Paris, 2003, vol. 1, p. 122, no. 204, illustrated 

Examined in the frame. Lined with a wax lining. The surface presents well and the texture of the impasto remains lively. Faint, widely patterned craquelure in the sky, the mast of the front sailboat and the trees at right. Two pin dot losses near the lower right corner. Minor scattered frame abrasion along left edge. Under UV: some fluorescence in the lower half of the sky, likely inherent.
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.

Upon moving to Paris in 1846, Johan Barthold Jongkind promptly joined an influential creative circle which included Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Théodore Rousseau and Charles Baudelaire. Baudelaire was an ardent supporter of Jongkind’s, his position made clear in his controversial reviews of the Salons of 1845 and 1846, brazenly calling for artists to turn away from classical subjects and academic teachings and embrace “the heroism of modern life,” which the artist took to heart (Charles Baudelaire, Art in Paris 1845-1862: Salons and Other Exhibitions, translated by Jonathan Mayne, London, 1965, p. 30-1). After winning medals and enjoying great success and state purchases from the Paris Salons of 1851 and 1852, Jongkind returned to his home country in 1855. Here, he turned his focus to marine landscapes, which became his most iconic and celebrated subjects. In these compositions he lowers the horizon and focuses on an active expanse of sky, characteristics shared by the seventeenth-century Dutch masters and his friend and peer, Eugène-Louis Boudin. In the present work, a complex and rigorously painted nocturne, Jongkind offers a peaceful view of modern industrial bustle and explores the effects of light on water. Backlit by a shining full moon, the row boat of the foreground is overwhelmed by the towering windmills and tall-mast ships, which crowd the atmospheric harbor of Rotterdam.



We would like to thank the Comité Jongkind Paris-La Haye for kindly contributing catalogue information and confirming the authenticity of this lot which will be included in their catalogue critique now in preparation; the archive reference number is H0162.