.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Trained at the Hague Academy by painters whose artistic ideas were all well-rooted in the Romantic Movement, Weissenbruch's early paintings all bear an idealization of reality and a distinct preferance for the anecdotical and historical. In accordance with the prevailing admiration for the Dutch Golden Age at that time, Weissenbruch studied and copied the work of cityscene painters such as Pieter de Hoogh (1629-1684) and Jan van der Heyden (1637-1712). The imaginary character of their individually composed realities greatly inspired Weissenbruch and contrasted with the sober and topographically sound observations of his 18th century predecessors.
During the years up to 1847 Weissenbruch's work continued to display the influence of the seventeenth century artists concerned, as well as of his tutors Wijnandus Nuyen and Salomon Leonardus Verveer. The latter of whom the following credo is often quoted: "Waar is dat? Als je een schilder bent, maak je zelve een stad" (Laanstra, op.cit., p.18). The strongly romantic and highly estimated lithograph series of Samuel Proust (1783-1852) and James Duffield Harding (1798-1863) furthermore provided the artist with a varied source of imagery. Halfway through the century Weissenbruch adopted a more realistic style, recording his immediate surroundings with photographic precision. Not only did the artist strip his townviews of superfluous details and give preferance to firm and tangible contours, he also exchanged his soft traditional palette for cooler and fresher colours. The Kunstkronijk of 1853 condemned Weissenbruch's stylistic evolution, criticly describing his static observations as unpoetical: "Van Jan Weissenbruch's schilderijen konden de oogen mij zeer pijn doen. Hij gaf de natuur zoo scherp weder, als men ze in eene chambre obscure pleegt te zien (Laanstra, op.cit., p. 20). Weissenbruch's later paintings moreover distinguish themselves by a conspicuous impression of spaciousness. The present lot depicts the St. Bavo church in Haarlem with numerous townsfolk engaged in daily activities on the Grote Markt. The artist also produced a smaller version of the square, using a looser brushstroke (Laanstra, op.cit., p. 75, illus.).
Weissenbruch rendered the city scene with his renowned sensitiveness for space and light, thus creating an inimitable atmosphere of stillness. The various figures, all portrayed with great precision, appear to stand motionless on the sunlit square and hereby emphasize the above described feeling of timelessness. Placed in the middle of the Grote Markt stands the solitary statue of Laurens Jansz. Coster, the supposed inventor of the art of printing. With a letter A in one hand and a book in the other, Coster proudly raises his arm with the aim of making his invention public. Louis Royer (1793-1868), one of The Netherlands' most honoured nineteenth century sculptor and creator of amongst others the Vondel statue in the Vondel Park of Amsterdam, completed Coster's statue in 1855. A year later, after being cast in The Hague, the work of art was unveiled.
Given the fact that Weissenbruch seldom dated his work, only did he do so between 1839 and 1850, Louis Royer's statue gives one a clear indication as to when the townview must have been painted. And as the artist ironically started to develop a phobia for large open spaces around 1870, one can be even more specific in dating the painting between 1856 and 1870.
During the years up to 1847 Weissenbruch's work continued to display the influence of the seventeenth century artists concerned, as well as of his tutors Wijnandus Nuyen and Salomon Leonardus Verveer. The latter of whom the following credo is often quoted: "Waar is dat? Als je een schilder bent, maak je zelve een stad" (Laanstra, op.cit., p.18). The strongly romantic and highly estimated lithograph series of Samuel Proust (1783-1852) and James Duffield Harding (1798-1863) furthermore provided the artist with a varied source of imagery. Halfway through the century Weissenbruch adopted a more realistic style, recording his immediate surroundings with photographic precision. Not only did the artist strip his townviews of superfluous details and give preferance to firm and tangible contours, he also exchanged his soft traditional palette for cooler and fresher colours. The Kunstkronijk of 1853 condemned Weissenbruch's stylistic evolution, criticly describing his static observations as unpoetical: "Van Jan Weissenbruch's schilderijen konden de oogen mij zeer pijn doen. Hij gaf de natuur zoo scherp weder, als men ze in eene chambre obscure pleegt te zien (Laanstra, op.cit., p. 20). Weissenbruch's later paintings moreover distinguish themselves by a conspicuous impression of spaciousness. The present lot depicts the St. Bavo church in Haarlem with numerous townsfolk engaged in daily activities on the Grote Markt. The artist also produced a smaller version of the square, using a looser brushstroke (Laanstra, op.cit., p. 75, illus.).
Weissenbruch rendered the city scene with his renowned sensitiveness for space and light, thus creating an inimitable atmosphere of stillness. The various figures, all portrayed with great precision, appear to stand motionless on the sunlit square and hereby emphasize the above described feeling of timelessness. Placed in the middle of the Grote Markt stands the solitary statue of Laurens Jansz. Coster, the supposed inventor of the art of printing. With a letter A in one hand and a book in the other, Coster proudly raises his arm with the aim of making his invention public. Louis Royer (1793-1868), one of The Netherlands' most honoured nineteenth century sculptor and creator of amongst others the Vondel statue in the Vondel Park of Amsterdam, completed Coster's statue in 1855. A year later, after being cast in The Hague, the work of art was unveiled.
Given the fact that Weissenbruch seldom dated his work, only did he do so between 1839 and 1850, Louis Royer's statue gives one a clear indication as to when the townview must have been painted. And as the artist ironically started to develop a phobia for large open spaces around 1870, one can be even more specific in dating the painting between 1856 and 1870.