A Classical Tombbeneath a ruined antique Vault in a Landscape with Goats, and a Shepherd playing with his Dog; and A young Man reading a Letter on a Bench in front of a Pyramid, in a wooded landscape with a lake and a boat in the foreground

Josephus Augustus Knip is, together with his daughter Henriette Ronner-Knip (1821-1909), famous for her pictures of cats, the best-known artist from a large family of artists from the province of Noortbrabant in the South of Holland. Knip worked in the capital of the province, Hertogenbosch, painting wallpaper and decorations, until 1801, when he moved to Paris, where he stayed until 1809. From 1809 to 1812 he worked in Italy, drawing not only landscapes but also architecture, figures and animals. In 1812 he returned to Holland, where he worked until 1832, when he turned blind. From 1833 he was financially supported by the Dutch King.The present bodycolors show subjects which are exceptional in his oeuvre, and can only be compared to two views set in a wood, dated 1799, prior to his move to Paris, and now in the Amsterdam Historisch Museum, E. Bergvelt, M. van Boven, J.A Knip 1777-1847, exhib. cat., Noordbrabants Museum, Hertogenbosch, 1977, pp. 55-6, nos. 6-7, illustrated. The second of the pair in particular is comparable in subject, including the sculpture of a woman mourning on a tomb in a wood. The subjects may be related to the freemasonry and show a French influence. Therefore the present bodycolors could date from just shortly after Knip's arrival in France in 1801.
Further information about the artist and his family is listed in F. Kuyvenhoven, R. Peeters, De familie Knip - drie generaties kunstenaars uit Noord-Brabant, exhib. cat., Noorbrabants Museum, Hertogenbosch, 1988.