.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
This is part of a group of topographical drawings in red chalk of similar horizontal format, some with additional watercolour. These are generally regarded as the work of Jan Griffier, and may have been part of an album. Another is in the Rijksprentenkabinet, Amsterdam, and others were sold, Sotheby's, Amsterdam, 16 November 1981, lots 212 and 217-8 (as attributed to Beerstraten). One of these, a view of Lambeth Palace, London, was recently sold, Sotheby's, London, 18 April 1996, lot 26, illustrated, and now in Lambeth Palace Library. Others were sold in these Rooms, 14 November 1988, lot 20, and 25 November 1991, lot 152, and at Sotheby's, Amsterdam, 15 November 1995, lot 83. A further, so far unidentified, view is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Griffier died in London after successfully working there for several years.
The Binnenhof with the Ridderzaal is situated at the Hofvijver in the centre of The Hague, and became the palace of the Counts of Holland in 1229. In 1558 Prince Maurits of Orange lived here, and in the same year it became the seat of the Staten Generaal. Several reconstructions and extensions have taken place since, but to this day the Binnenhof is the seat of the Dutch Parliament. The present view was frequently depicted throughout the 16th to 18th Centuries, some examples published by C. Dumas, Haagse Stadsgezichten 1550-1800, The Hague/Zwolle, 1991, pp. 666-73.
The provenance of this drawing is particularly interesting as Jan de Bisschop (1627-1686) was not only a gifted amateur draughtsman but also an important lawyer and connoisseur who lived in The Hague. As from 1652 he lived on the nearby Prinsegracht, and was a friend of Constantijn Huygens (1628-1697), who lived near the Binnenhof.
The Binnenhof with the Ridderzaal is situated at the Hofvijver in the centre of The Hague, and became the palace of the Counts of Holland in 1229. In 1558 Prince Maurits of Orange lived here, and in the same year it became the seat of the Staten Generaal. Several reconstructions and extensions have taken place since, but to this day the Binnenhof is the seat of the Dutch Parliament. The present view was frequently depicted throughout the 16th to 18th Centuries, some examples published by C. Dumas, Haagse Stadsgezichten 1550-1800, The Hague/Zwolle, 1991, pp. 666-73.
The provenance of this drawing is particularly interesting as Jan de Bisschop (1627-1686) was not only a gifted amateur draughtsman but also an important lawyer and connoisseur who lived in The Hague. As from 1652 he lived on the nearby Prinsegracht, and was a friend of Constantijn Huygens (1628-1697), who lived near the Binnenhof.