PHILIPS WOUWERMAN | A CAVALIER AND A LADY HALTING AT AN INN

Prince Eugène de Beauharnais, 1st Duke of Leuchtenberg (1781-1824), Munich, by 1829;

Thence by descent to Maximilian de Beauharnais (1817-1852), 3rd Duke of Leuchtenberg, Munich, by 1851;

Thence by descent to Nikolaus Maximilian de Beauharnais (1843-1890), 4th Duke of Leuchtenberg and also known as Duke Romanowski since 1852, St. Petersburg;

Thence by descent to his son, Nikolaus de Beauharnais (1868-1928), Duke of Leuchtenberg, St. Petersburg, 1908;

With Pieter de Boer, Amsterdam, 1959.

C. Hofstede de Groot, A Catalogue raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century, London 1909, vol. II, pp. 380-381, cat. no. 437;

B. Schumacher, Philips Wouwerman, Doornspijk 2006, vol I, p. 334, cat. no. A414.

Birgit Schumacher dates this exquisite copper by Phillips Wouwerman to circa 1655 (see Literature). The scene is set beneath a vibrant blue sky and bathed in a cool, crisp light. Renowned primarily as the most accomplished and successful seventeenth-century Dutch painter of equestrian subjects, Wouwerman experienced much success in his lifetime. His reputation continued to grow throughout the eighteenth century and his work was avidly collected by connoisseurs who appreciated his technical perfection and elegant subject matter. Vastly collected in Europe, many of his compositions were either copied, including this one, or engraved.