Jan Josefsz. van Goyen*(1596-1665)

Details

Jan Josefsz. van Goyen*(1596-1665)

A River Landscape with Fishermen off a Quay and with a Drawbridge leading to a Village

bears monogram and date on the boat 'VG 1645'--oil on panel
14 5/8 x 12 5/8in. (37.2 x 32cm.)

Provenance

William H. Aspinwall, New York; his sale, American Art Association, New York, April 6, 1886, lot 63.
Samuel P. Avery, Jr., until 1902.
Hon. Lyman A. Mills, Middlefield, CT., by whom given in 1923 to
The Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford.

Literature

Descriptive Catalogue of the Pictures in the Gallery of W.H. Aspinwall, p. 37, no. 50.
H.-U. Beck, Jan van Goyen 1596-1656. Ein Oeuvreverzeichnis, II, Katalog der Gemälde, 1973, p. 87, no. 175, illustrated.
Wadsworth Atheneum, Wadsworth Atheneum Paintings. Catalogue 1. The Netherlands and German-Speaking Countries. 15th to 19th Centuries, 1978, p. 146, n.. 60, pl. 92 as Jan van Goyen.

Exhibited

Hartford, CT, Wadsworth Atheneum, Paintings from the Collection of the Hon. Lyman A. Mills, Middlefield, Conn. Nov. 12, 1923, and following days, no. 29.

Lot Essay

The 1978 catalogue of the Wadsworth Atheneum likened the painting composition and style to two other paintings by Van Goyen from the mid 1640's: The Castle with Tower at the Edge of the Water, dated 1644, formerly with Schaeffer Gallery, New York (Beck, op.cit., II, no. 666) and the Country House near the Water dated 1646 in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Beck, op.cit., II, no. 179). They also likened the gabled building in the painting to its counterpart in a painting dated 1643 in Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, Inv. no. 178 (Beck, op.cit., II, no. 174). In a letter dated Dec. 1, 1995, Dr. Hans-Ulrich Beck confirms the attribution to van Goyen, although he notes that there are certain weaknesses in the painting, probably due to its condition.