Dirck van Delen

The interior of a Gothic church with elegant figures, an organ, and a tomb

Guaranteed Property

Auction Closed

January 26, 04:01 PM GMT

Estimate

60,000 - 80,000 USD

Lot Details

Description

Dutch Masterpieces from the Theiline Scheumann Collection

Dirck van Delen

Heusden circa 1605 - 1671 Arnemuiden

The interior of a Gothic church with elegant figures, an organ, and a tomb

signed and dated upper right: Dv... / 16?9

oil on copper

copper: 8¼ by 10¾ in.; 21 by 27.3 cm.

framed: 14⅝ by 17¼ in.; 37.1 by 43.8 cm.

Sir David Salomons, 1st Baronet (1797-1873), London (Hendrick van Steenwyck);
Thence by descent to his second wife, Cecilia Samuel Salomons;
From whose estate acquired by his nephew and heir, Sir David Lionel Goldsmid-Stern-Salomons, 2nd Baronet (1851-1925), London, in 1892 (Hendrick van Steenwyck);
Thence by descent to his daughter Vera Frances Salomons (1888-1969);
By whose foundation sold ("Sold by the Order of the L.A. Mayer Memorial Foundation, from the Collection of Sir David Salomons"), London, Christie's, 17 July 1986, lot 59 (as Circle of Bartholomeus van Bassen);
With Johnny van Haeften, London, by 1986;
From whom acquired, 1994.

Catalogue of the Collection of Pictures, Engravings, Etchings, Miniatures, and Drawings, &c. at 49, Grosvenor Street, London. The Property of Sir D.L. Salomons, Bart, London 1893, p. 19, cat. no. 87 (as by Hendrick van Steenwyck, and as on “pannel”);
B.G. Maillet, Intérieurs d'Églises 1580-1720: La Peinture Architecturale des Écoles du Nord, Wijnegem 2012, p. 237, cat. no. M-0357, reproduced.

London, Johnny van Haeften, Dutch and Flemish Old Master Paintings, 1986, no. 59.

Dirck van Delen was one of the most important Dutch 17th century artists to specialize in architectural views, in particular, of palaces and church interiors. Although the identity of his teacher remains unclear, the influence on Van Delen of painters such as Pieter Neefs, active a generation earlier, and Hans and Paul Vredeman de Vries, the Dutch father and son team who worked at the court of Rudolf II in Prague, is indubitable. Unlike Van Delen's contemporary Pieter Saenredam, who was renowned for his naturalistic paintings of existing buildings, Van Delen specialized in imaginary architectural scenes that freely reinterpreted known interiors and emphasized dramatic spatial recession. His works are recognized for their refined details, vivid palettes, and impressive and convincing use of perspective, as well as for their overall feeling of monumentality, all elements found in this exquisite copper.

In this painting the viewer looks from a low vantage point into the spacious interior of a magnificent church. A shadowed foreground opens onto a light-flooded and soaring space whose archways and columns pull the eye into the depths of the composition and through to the towering windows beyond. The ornate golden organ that rises above the stone-niches decorated with coats of arms at left is balanced on the right by an impressive tomb, adorned with sculpture and elaborate marble stone, suggesting the entombed is of impressive or historical lineage. Contributing to the lively impression of the composition, the rest of the interior is filled with scattered figures who move throughout the space. In addition to the elegantly dressed couple in the center foreground, other visitors greet each other and casually move about the soaring interior.