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Lot Essay
In 1853 Barend Cornelis Koekkoek moved to Cleves, a fashionable Prussian ville de bains (close to the Dutch border near Nijmegen) with his newly wedded wife Elise Thrse Daiwaille (1814-1881), the daughter of his teacher Jean Augustin Daiwaille (1786-1850).
If the Dutch years before 1834 can be regarded as the beginning of the artist's career then Cleves is the place where his style of landscape painting became mature. In the following years he earned himself great fame and reputation, which is evident by the awards and honours presented to him from the mid-1830's onwards. Amongst these was a Silver Medal for a winter landscape exhibited at the Brussels Salon in 1836.
In October 1839 Koekkoek was both knighted Ridder in de Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw and was awarded a Gold Medal for a mountain landscape again at the Brussels Salon. More Golden Medals would fall to his share (see catalogue note lot 197).
The present lot may well be compared with the well known, frequently reproduced, winter landscapes from 1838 and 1839 in the collections of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, and Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam (resp. inv. no. SK-C 165 and inv. no. 1429).
Whereas Koekkoek chose the Dutch extensive plains as example for his winter subjects, the mountainous scenery of Harz, Ahrtal and the Central Rhine served as inspiration for his summer landscapes. The artist thus consciously composed his landscapes with motives that enhanced the atmosphere of a certain season. For his winter landscapes, the artist even applied a fixed composition lay-out to realize the desired effect. The predominant green and blue colours create a cool tone and emphasize the clearness of the painting. Koekkoek's winterlandscapes dating around 1838 seem to be influenced by the wintery scenes of Andreas Schelhout (1787-1870), who painted in an almost identical manner. Meticulous brushstroke was also an ideal they evidently had in common.
(cf. literature: A. Nollert, Barend Cornelis Koekkoek (1803-1862), Prins der Landschapschilders, exh. cat Zwolle 1997).
For more information on the artist see catalogue note with lots 197 and 212
The authenticity has been confirmed by Drs G. de Werd, director of Museum Haus Koekkoek, Cleves, after firsthand examination.
If the Dutch years before 1834 can be regarded as the beginning of the artist's career then Cleves is the place where his style of landscape painting became mature. In the following years he earned himself great fame and reputation, which is evident by the awards and honours presented to him from the mid-1830's onwards. Amongst these was a Silver Medal for a winter landscape exhibited at the Brussels Salon in 1836.
In October 1839 Koekkoek was both knighted Ridder in de Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw and was awarded a Gold Medal for a mountain landscape again at the Brussels Salon. More Golden Medals would fall to his share (see catalogue note lot 197).
The present lot may well be compared with the well known, frequently reproduced, winter landscapes from 1838 and 1839 in the collections of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, and Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam (resp. inv. no. SK-C 165 and inv. no. 1429).
Whereas Koekkoek chose the Dutch extensive plains as example for his winter subjects, the mountainous scenery of Harz, Ahrtal and the Central Rhine served as inspiration for his summer landscapes. The artist thus consciously composed his landscapes with motives that enhanced the atmosphere of a certain season. For his winter landscapes, the artist even applied a fixed composition lay-out to realize the desired effect. The predominant green and blue colours create a cool tone and emphasize the clearness of the painting. Koekkoek's winterlandscapes dating around 1838 seem to be influenced by the wintery scenes of Andreas Schelhout (1787-1870), who painted in an almost identical manner. Meticulous brushstroke was also an ideal they evidently had in common.
(cf. literature: A. Nollert, Barend Cornelis Koekkoek (1803-1862), Prins der Landschapschilders, exh. cat Zwolle 1997).
For more information on the artist see catalogue note with lots 197 and 212
The authenticity has been confirmed by Drs G. de Werd, director of Museum Haus Koekkoek, Cleves, after firsthand examination.