William van de Velde II (Leiden 1633-1707 London)

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THE PROPERTY OF THE LATE BARONESS BATSHEVA DE ROTHSCHILD (Lots 14, 23-24, 39, 40-41, 52 and 61-65)

William van de Velde II (Leiden 1633-1707 London)

Two fishing boats off a spit of sand in a calm, with other shipping in an estuary

Details

William van de Velde II (Leiden 1633-1707 London)
Two fishing boats off a spit of sand in a calm, with other shipping in an estuary
signed with initials 'W.V.V.' (lower left, on a piece of driftwood)
oil on panel
53/8 x 7½ in. (13.6 x 19 cm.)

Provenance

(Probably) Jacobus Viet, The Hague; sale, Smit, Amsterdam, 12 October 1774, lot 223 (220 florins to Yver [presumably Jan Yver, the well-known Dutch auctioneer and dealer]).
(Possibly) Le Chevalier Lambert; sale, Lebrun, Paris, 27 March 1787 (sold 780 francs).
(Possibly) Destouches; sale, Lebrun jeune/Julliot Boilleau, 21 March 1794 (sold 351 francs).
(Possibly) La Perrier, receveur général des contributions de la Seine; sale, Lacoste, Paris, 14ff. April 1817, lot 63, 'Une Marine par un temps calme: morceau de toute perfection, offrant une grande étendue d'eau couverte de plusieurs bâtimens et barques. En avant, on remarque des matelots et pêcheurs. Ce precieux échantillon réunit aussi toutes les qualités que l'on peut désirer dans les ouvrages de ce mâitre; et malgré sa petite dimension, il mérite l'attention des connaisseurs' (950 francs to Coclers).
Baron Alphonse de Rothschild (1827-1905), Paris.
Baron Edouard de Rothschild (1868-1949), Paris.
Baroness Batsheva de Rothschild (1914-99), Tel Aviv.
Rothschild inventory no. ER 129 ( the inventory no. R102, and possibly the label '1478/(R)8', on the reverse relates to the Nazi requisitions of 1940-1).

Literature

(Possibly) J. Smith, A Catalogue Raisonné, etc., VI, London, 1835, p. 329, no. 30, 'A view on the coast, looking seaward, under the aspect of fine calm weather. Among several sailors and fishermen observable on the sands in front, is one with his back to the specator, walking in the water towards some boats. Several vessels are visible out at sea. 5 in. by 7 in. - P[anel].', listing the Lambert, Destouches and La Perrier sales above.
A type-written and undated inventory of pictures, in the Rothschild Archive in London, describes two calme paintings by Van de Velde under nos. 38 and 45.
(Probably) C. Hofstede de Groot, A Catalogue Raisonné, etc., VII, London, 1923, p. 66, no. 232, 'Boats by the Shore in a Calm. - Two are in front. Near them a fisherman with a basket on his back walks through the shallow water. There are other ships, large and small. Panel, 5 inches by 7½ inches.', listing the Viet provenance, above. (Possibly) Ibid., p. 69, no. 244 (Smith, loc cit.), 'On the sand in the foreground are some fishermen. One of them, with his back to the spectator, walks through the shallow water towards a boat. In the distance are several ships. Panel, 5 inches by 7 inches.'
(Possibly) ibid., p. 98, no. 368, 'Shipping on a calm sea - Warm and sunny atmosphere. Of the painter's golden period.', as consecutively in the collections of Barons Alphonse and Henri de Rothschild, Paris.

Special notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price plus buyer's premium.

Lot Essay

The present work was not known to Michael Robinson at the time of publication of his 1990 monograph but there can be no doubt as to its authenticity. Probably painted prior to Willem van de Velde's departure to England in 1672, this compositional type, in which a fisherman is seen wading on a beach towards sailing boats, is comparable with a number of much larger 'Calms' executed by the artist in the 1660s - see, for instance, the Smalschip at Anchor near the Shore, of circa 1665, in the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester (acc. no. 01 1984), or the Wijdschip and Kaag in an Inlet, dated 1661, in the National Gallery, London (inv. no. 871). The unusually intimate scale and treatment of the subject in the present picture brings to mind the small, signed panel (6 x 8 in.) sold in these Rooms, 9 July 1999, lot 19 (£111,500).

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