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拍品专文
Van Goyen reached the pinnacle of his creative work in the 1640s. By the end of the preceding decade the artist had achieved notable recognition as a landscapist and a certain amount of stability in his private life. Despite losing a great deal of money in 1637, supposedly through a failed venture in the tulip market, he bought a house on the Singelgracht in The Hague in 1639 and was appointed head of the Guild of Saint Luke there in 1638 and 1640. He was astonishingly productive in the 1640s with over 450 known dated works from this decade alone. This, while he was also intermittently active as an art dealer, auctioneer and estate agent, in order to supplement his earnings.
The four pictures in this sale, painted between 1639 and 1646, provide a testament to Van Goyen's powers of invention and offer a decent overview of the variety of subjects that he addressed during this decade, from panoramas and architectural views to marines. All were bought by Beriah Botfield on the continent in the mid-1840s and equally provide a telling insight as to the taste and discerning eye of the collector. Botfield evidently held Van Goyen in high regard, he owned more pictures by him than any other Dutch artist, and in his preference for works that inspired contemplation, he evidently appreciated the atmospheric qualities that these works evoke.
The present picture is dated 164(1 or 6) by Beck (loc. cit.), however, the date can be clearly read as 1646 when viewed under magnification. The brown and dark green tonality is consistent with this later date, by which time Van Goyen had pretty much abandoned the golden-brown tones that he employed in the early 1640s, as evidenced in this sale by the View of Arnhem and the View of the Mariakerk. Van Goyen employs a strong diagonal composition which, unusually, is broken by a bank across the middleground on the left. The fishermen are viewed from relatively close by but their presence is incidental in comparision with the effects of nature that are Van Goyen's real subject. He focuses his attention on the menacing sky and the reflections it casts over the river. The bright morning light breaking through dark low cloud provides strong contrasts in the water, helping to achieve a harmonious sense of space for the whole.
The four pictures in this sale, painted between 1639 and 1646, provide a testament to Van Goyen's powers of invention and offer a decent overview of the variety of subjects that he addressed during this decade, from panoramas and architectural views to marines. All were bought by Beriah Botfield on the continent in the mid-1840s and equally provide a telling insight as to the taste and discerning eye of the collector. Botfield evidently held Van Goyen in high regard, he owned more pictures by him than any other Dutch artist, and in his preference for works that inspired contemplation, he evidently appreciated the atmospheric qualities that these works evoke.
The present picture is dated 164(1 or 6) by Beck (loc. cit.), however, the date can be clearly read as 1646 when viewed under magnification. The brown and dark green tonality is consistent with this later date, by which time Van Goyen had pretty much abandoned the golden-brown tones that he employed in the early 1640s, as evidenced in this sale by the View of Arnhem and the View of the Mariakerk. Van Goyen employs a strong diagonal composition which, unusually, is broken by a bank across the middleground on the left. The fishermen are viewed from relatively close by but their presence is incidental in comparision with the effects of nature that are Van Goyen's real subject. He focuses his attention on the menacing sky and the reflections it casts over the river. The bright morning light breaking through dark low cloud provides strong contrasts in the water, helping to achieve a harmonious sense of space for the whole.