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Lot Essay
Although the present painting has long been considered a work by Hendrick Avercamp, and was indeed included as such in Clara J. Welcker's 1933 monograph (revised in 1979 by Hensbroek-van Poel; see literature above), modern scholarship is divided as to whether the painting is a relatively early work by Hendrick, a collaborative effort between Hendrick and Barent, or entirely by Barent Avercamp. Certainly the somewhat coarser, looser brushstrokes are reminiscent of certain works by Hendrick, such as his signed winter landscape (formerly?) in the Baron van Wijnbergen collection, Voorhout (Welcker, op. cit., pl. IX, fig. XXIV), and that offered at Sotheby's, London, 5 July, 1995, lot 11, while some other features suggest another hand, likely that of Barent.
The present painting shows considerable underdrawing and a number of pentiments, and many of the outlines around the figures have been re-worked. This is somewhat consistent with other paintings by Barent; see for example, the paintings sold at Christie's, New York, 11 January 1991, lot 91; Christie's, London, 11 July, 1980, lot 118; and Sotheby's London, 7 December, 1994, lot 17 and subsequently exhibited at the Maastricht Fair by Robert Noortman in 1995. The coloring of some of the figures (such as the very bright tomato red) and the relatively opaque paint application is also similar to that of Barent Avercamp's painting technique. However, Barent's style is so closely based on that of his uncle Hendrick, whose pupil we can assume he was, as to make it hard sometimes to separate their oeuvres. Few of Barent's paintings are dated, and none before 1650, so it is not possible to establish a chronology for his work.
Several of the figure groupings in the present painting are repeated in other compositions by Hendrick, for example, the man tying up the lady's skate appears in a painting formerly with Rene Schreuder (advertised in Tableau, 4/2/90, and exhibited at the Maastricht Fair the same year; subsequently sold at Christie's London, 12 December, 2001, lot 30 as 'Attributed to Hendrick Avercamp'). The skating couple in the center of the present lot reappear on the right of a painting formerly in the Harold Samuels collection, now belonging to the City of London and in the Barbican, London, as does the woman in profile wearing a red skirt in the left foreground of the present work. The above, plus the loose, almost naive, handling of the paint would seem to indicate that this painting is likely a collaborative effort by Hendrick, which may have been reworked by his nephew, Barent.
Hendrick and Barent Avercamp worked in relative isolation in the town of Kampen, then a Hanseatic port of dwindling importance on the eastern shores of the Zuider Zee. Hendrick's geographical isolation may have been compounded by a very real physical handicap, as, in her will of 1633, his mother expresses concern that her son, who was unmarried and lived with her, was 'stom and miserabel' (mute and miserable). Contemporary sources as early as 1613 describe him as 'Stomme', and his muteness was probably the result of deafness.
The present painting shows considerable underdrawing and a number of pentiments, and many of the outlines around the figures have been re-worked. This is somewhat consistent with other paintings by Barent; see for example, the paintings sold at Christie's, New York, 11 January 1991, lot 91; Christie's, London, 11 July, 1980, lot 118; and Sotheby's London, 7 December, 1994, lot 17 and subsequently exhibited at the Maastricht Fair by Robert Noortman in 1995. The coloring of some of the figures (such as the very bright tomato red) and the relatively opaque paint application is also similar to that of Barent Avercamp's painting technique. However, Barent's style is so closely based on that of his uncle Hendrick, whose pupil we can assume he was, as to make it hard sometimes to separate their oeuvres. Few of Barent's paintings are dated, and none before 1650, so it is not possible to establish a chronology for his work.
Several of the figure groupings in the present painting are repeated in other compositions by Hendrick, for example, the man tying up the lady's skate appears in a painting formerly with Rene Schreuder (advertised in Tableau, 4/2/90, and exhibited at the Maastricht Fair the same year; subsequently sold at Christie's London, 12 December, 2001, lot 30 as 'Attributed to Hendrick Avercamp'). The skating couple in the center of the present lot reappear on the right of a painting formerly in the Harold Samuels collection, now belonging to the City of London and in the Barbican, London, as does the woman in profile wearing a red skirt in the left foreground of the present work. The above, plus the loose, almost naive, handling of the paint would seem to indicate that this painting is likely a collaborative effort by Hendrick, which may have been reworked by his nephew, Barent.
Hendrick and Barent Avercamp worked in relative isolation in the town of Kampen, then a Hanseatic port of dwindling importance on the eastern shores of the Zuider Zee. Hendrick's geographical isolation may have been compounded by a very real physical handicap, as, in her will of 1633, his mother expresses concern that her son, who was unmarried and lived with her, was 'stom and miserabel' (mute and miserable). Contemporary sources as early as 1613 describe him as 'Stomme', and his muteness was probably the result of deafness.