JACOB VAN MOSSCHER | A couple resting beneath tall trees on the bank of a pond

L.R. Maconochie Welwood, Kirknewton, Midlothian;
By whom sold, London, Sotheby's, 30 July 1947, lot 168 (to Asscher);
With Duits Ltd, London;
With Gebr. Douwes, Amsterdam, after 1951;
F.C. Butôt (1906–92), Sankt Gilgen, Austria, by 1954;
His posthumous sale, Amsterdam, Sotheby's, 16 November 1993, lot 18, for 207,000 Dutch Guilders, when acquired.

Delft, Stedelijk Museum 'Het Prinsenhof', Kersttentoonstelling, 21 December 1952 – 1 February 1953, no. 48;
Amsterdam, Gebr. Douwes, Annual Art Fair Exhibition, 1955, no. 45;
Dordrecht, Dordrechts Museum, Nederlandse Landschappen uit de zeventiende eeuw, 6 July – 2 September 1963, no. 86;
Salzburg, Museumpavillon im Mirabellgarten, 12 July – 12 September 1972; Münster, Westfälisches Landesmuseum, 26 September 1972 – 14 January 1973, Niederländische Kunst aus dem Goldenen Jahrhundert;
Rotterdam, Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Hollandse en Vlaamse Kunst uit de 17^e eeuw, 16 February – 1 April 1973;
Munich, Sotheby’s, A selection of paintings and drawings from the Collection of F.C. Butôt, June 1989;
Rotterdam, Kunsthal, At Home in the Golden Age, 9 February – 18 May 2008, no. 140;
Osnabrück, Kunsthalle Osnabrück, Schöne Landschaft - Bedrohte Natur: Alte Meister im Dialog mit zeitgenössischer Kunst. Landschaftsbilder aus der SØR Rusche Sammlung Oelde/Berlin, 9 June – 13 October 2013;
Nuremberg, Auf AEG, Gute Kunst? Wollen!, 19 September – 17 October 2015.

Niederländisches Kunst aus dem Goldenen Jahrhundert--Gemälde und Zeichnungen im Umkreis grosser Meister aus der Sammlung F.C. Butôt, exhib. cat., Salzburg 1972, pp. 86–87, reproduced;
Hollandse en Vlaamse kunst uit de 17e eeuw: hoogtepunten van minder bekende meesters: schilderijen en tekeningen uit de verzameling F.C. Butôt, exhib. cat., Rotterdam 1973, pp. 88–89, reproduced;
L.J. Bol, Holländische Maler des 17. Jahrhunderts nahe den grossen Meistern, Brunswick 1973, p. 201, reproduced p. 202, fig. 195;
L.J. Bol & G. Keyes, Netherlandish Paintings and Drawings from the Collection of F.C. Butôt, London 1981, p. 110, cat. no. 38, reproduced;
L. Bol, Die holländische Marinemalerei des 17. Jahrhunderts : nahe den grossen Meistern; Landschaften und Stilleben, Munich 1982, p. 201, reproduced in black and white p. 202, fig. 195;
I.F. Fecher, 'The Butôt Collection, Sotheby's Exhibition in Munich', Weltkunst, no. 59, 1989, cat. no. 12, pp. 1767–68;
H.-U. Beck, Künstler um Jan van Goyen, Doornspijk 1991, p. 323, cat. no. 899/A16, reproduced;
L.J. Bol & G. Keyes, Netherlandish Paintings and Drawings from the Collection of F.C. Butôt, London 1981, pp. 180–83, cat. no. 45, reproduced in colour;
W. Pijbes, M. Aarts, M.J. Bok et al, At Home in the Golden Age, exhib. cat., Zwolle 2008, pp. 8, 127, cat. no. 140, reproduced in colour.

The panel is uncradled, flat and stable. The paint surface is clean and the varnish is clear and even. The passages of foliage in the trees are very well-preserved and still stand proud of the paint surface. Inspection under ultraviolet light reveals a handful of small spots of retouching scattered in the sky and along the lower left-hand margin, but the painting is in otherwise very good condition.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This is a highly characteristic picture by Mosscher, whose sparse monochromatic landscape paintings (and his few drawings) nearly always include a thick clump of massed trees dominating one half of the composition. As in many of his landscapes, the figures here were painted by Mosscher's Haarlem townsman Isack van Ostade (1621–1649).