Lot Essay
This painting, which is probably datable to the 1630s and informed by the work of Joos de Momper II, is executed on a panel bearing the maker's mark of the eminent Antwerp panel maker Michiel Claessens. On account of the freedom with which many of the details are handled, including the extremely loose approach to the ruined structure at left, an attribution to Frans de Momper is plausible. Frans was active in Antwerp until he moved the the Dutch Republic in 1646 and his works are often more painterly than those of his more famous uncle.
A note on the provenance:
Christie’s is honoured to present this lot on behalf of the heirs of Benjamin and Nathaniel Katz, the former owners of the Firma D. Katz, by whom it was sold under duress during the Second World War.
Brothers Benjamin and Nathaniel Katz were joint partners in Firma D. Katz, the preeminent Dutch art gallery founded by their father in 1887. Under Benjamin and Nathaniel’s leadership, Firma D. Katz became one of the most famous art dealerships in the Netherlands, trading in art and antiques with a specialty in Dutch Old Master paintings. Following the Nazi occupation of the country in May 1940, the Katz brothers were forced to sell their stock to Nazis and Nazi-affiliated buyers, and anti-Jewish laws ultimately required them to liquidate their family business. After the war, the Katz brothers sought to recover their looted inventory of hundreds of works. Unfortunately, this painting and most of the collection were not returned, despite extensive and ongoing efforts by the Katz family.
Decades later, the then-owner of A Winterscene, the European Investment Bank, partnered with the Art Loss Register to research the painting’s provenance, which revealed the persecution-related loss of the painting by the Firma D. Katz. In April 2024, the bank announced the return of the painting to the heirs of the rightful owners.