Barent Gael

Barend Gael was reputedly a pupil of Philips Wouwerman, and a number of his drawings, presumably early works, lend credence to this theory. In his later works, however, Gael became increasingly influenced, both compositionally and technically, by another Haarlem master, Isack van Ostade. Both Gael's drawings, with his characteristic subjects and nervous penwork, and his paintings are readily recognizable, although some of his best works probably still go under other names.

Gael's drawings come to the market only relatively rarely. A particularly good example was formerly in the J.A. Klaver Collection, Amsterdam.¹

¹ Sale, Amsterdam, Sotheby's, 10 May 1994, lot 84