JACOB VAN DER ULFT | THE PHIDIAN STATUE OF ZEUS AT OLYMPIA, WITH OLYMPIC GAMES TAKING PLACE AT ITS FEET

With S. Nystad, The Hague, 1955;

F.C. Butôt, Sankt Gilgen, Austria;

His posthumous sale, Amsterdam, Sotheby's, 16 November 1993, lot 40, when acquired.

Niederländisches Kunst aus dem Goldenen Jahrhundert--Gemälde und Zeichnungen im Umkreis grosser Meister aus der Sammlung F.C. Butôt, exh. cat., Salzburg 1972, pp. 150–51, reproduced;

Hollandse en Vlaamse kunst uit de 17e eeuw: hoogtepunten van minder bekende meesters: schilderijen en tekeningen uit de verzameling F.C. Butôt, exh. cat., Rotterdam 1973, pp. 154–55, reproduced;

L.J. Bol, G. Keyes and F.C. Butôt, Netherlandish paintings and drawings from the collection of F.C. Butôt by little-known and rare masters of the seventeenth century, London 1981, p. 228, cat. no. 97, reproduced;

W. Pijbes, M. Aarts, M. J. Bok et al., At Home in the Golden Age, exh. cat., Zwolle 2008, p. 51, cat. no. 28, reproduced in colour;

H.-J. Raupp (ed.), Niederländische Malerei des. 17. Jahrhunderts der SØR Rusche-Sammlung, vol. 4, Historien und Allegorien, Münster/Hamburg/London 2010, pp. 426–30, cat. no. 73, reproduced in colour.

Salzburg, Museumpavillon im Mirabellgarten, 12 July – 12 September 1972; Münster, Westfälisches Landesmuseum, 26 September 1972 – 14 January 1973, Niederländische Kunst aus dem Goldenen Jahrhundert, unnumbered;

Rotterdam, Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Hollandse en Vlaamse Kunst uit de 17e eeuw, 16 February – 1 April 1973, unnumbered;

Rotterdam, Kunsthal, At Home in the Golden Age, 9 February – 18 May 2008, no. 28.

The SØR Rusche Collection has been exhibited extensively over the last two decades. Please click here for further information.

Jacob van der Ulft is known principally for his architectural and topographical views. As a work of fantasy, the present work is somewhat of an anomaly within his painted œuvre. The colossal statue of Zeus is seated in the centre of the temple; to the right is a statue of Hercules, one of Zeus' sons, standing with his club and a lion skin. Spectators watching the Olympic Games wrestling and equestrian competitions; and in the foreground a kneeling athlete is awarded a laurel wreath.

The main elements of the composition follow the engraving of 1572 by Philips Galle, after a drawing by Maarten van Heemskerck - part of a series depicting the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World. The artist Willem van Nieulandt the Younger also depicted the scene, and appears to have inspired the bright palette of Van der Ulft’s painting. Such a subject reflects the learned Early Modern fascination with the Ancient World.