Figures by a lock at the entrance to a town, with coats-of-arms on either side

Details

Circle of Jacob Isaacsz. van Ruisdael (Haarlem 1628/29-1682 Amsterdam)
Figures by a lock at the entrance to a town, with coats-of-arms on either side
with initials 'R' and date '1646'
black chalk, brush and grey ink, grey wash, watermark foolscap
152 x 200 mm.

Provenance

J. Goll van Franckenstein (L. 2987), with his number 'N. 3783', acquired in 1793 but not in his sale in 1833.
G. Bellingham-Smith; A.W.M. Mensing, Amsterdam, 5-6 July 1927, lot 113. E.Th. Schultinga Koopman.
Anonymous sale; P. Brandt, Amsterdam, 12-14 December 1955, lot 480.
H. Wiegersma; Mak van Waay, Amsterdam, 15 December 1969, lot 311 (to Dreesmann).
Dr Anton C.R. Dreesmann (inventory no. B-21).

Literature

S. Slive, Jacob van Ruisdael, A complete catalogue of his paintings, drawings and etchings, New Haven and London, 2001, under no. D2 and p. 494, note 2.

Exhibited

Notre Dame, Indiana, The Snite Museum of Art, Selections of XVII and XVIII Century Dutch Art from the Collection of Dr A.C.R. Dreesmann, 1982, no. 24.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

Professor Seymour Slive relates the present lot to Ruisdael's drawing The Old Haarlem Lock at the Martelaarsgracht, Amsterdam
in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, although he does not support an attribution to Ruisdael, S. Slive, op. cit., pp. 493-494. While the composition of each drawing is similar, they appear not to show the same buildings. It has been suggested that the underlying structure in black chalk and the details added in ink are by two different hands. The authorship of the black chalk elements, particularly visible in the upper right corner, has been linked to Ruisdael himself, while the second draughtsman responsible for the outlines and figures may have been a pupil or a close contemporary.
We are grateful to Dr. Hans-Ulrich Beck for his kind help with the provenance of the drawing.

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