A mountainous river valley, with an iron foundry, a town in the distance

Details

Marten van Valkenborch I (Louvain 1535-1612 Frankfurt)
A mountainous river valley, with an iron foundry, a town in the distance
signed with monogram 'M/VV' (lower right)
oil on canvas
29 x 44¾ in. (73.6 x 113.6 cm.)

Provenance

Wichmann-Basner, Danzig-Zoppot; sale, Lepke, Berlin, 19 November 1929, lot 50.

Literature

Katalog der Sammlung Wichmann-Basne, Danzig-Zoppot, 1925, fig. XVa.
A. Wied, Lucas und Marten van Valckenborch (1535-1597 und 1534-1612), Freren, 1990, p. 274, no. 40, illustrated.

Special notice

VAT rate of 17.5% is payable on hammer price plus buyer’s premium.

Lot Essay

In his monograph on the artist, Alexander Wied describes this picture as 'undoubtedly a masterwork of Marten's late, fantastic style' (loc. cit.). It is possible that the location is loosely based on the industrial works then existing on the River Meuse - as represented by Lucas van Valkenborch in his similar view, the Cliff landscape with a blast furnace (Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, inv. no. 1023) that may represent Schloss Beaufort on the Meuse.

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