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Lot Essay
A number of attributions have been proposed for this charming composition. Offered in 1951 as a work by Jacob van Rusidael (1628/9-c. 1682), the acknowledged leader of the Haarlem School of landscape painting, the work was subsequently recorded in the files of the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD), The Hague, with a proposed attribution to Salomon Rombouts (active Haarlem, 1652-1660) made by Horst Gerson, the noted historian of Netherlandish art (especially the work of Rembrandt) and Director of the RKD. Attributions to Salomon's father, Gillis Rombouts (Haarlem 1630-c. 1672), Cornelis Decker (Haarlem before 1643-1678) and Roelof van Vries (Haarlem c. 1631-after 1681 Amsterdam).
Of all these, the attribution to Salomon Rombouts is perhaps the most plausible. The soft, smooth delineation of contours; the inventive composition, with an avenue of trees focusing the gaze telescopically on the delicately painted, miniaturistic glimpse of a landscape with a dog and other figures in the distant background; the highly sensitive play of light and shadow, with highlights dappled thoughtfully and selectively over the bushy boughs of the trees in the upper register; and above all the still, quiet and inviting atmosphere, are all reminiscent of a canvas of larger dimensions in the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest.
Of all these, the attribution to Salomon Rombouts is perhaps the most plausible. The soft, smooth delineation of contours; the inventive composition, with an avenue of trees focusing the gaze telescopically on the delicately painted, miniaturistic glimpse of a landscape with a dog and other figures in the distant background; the highly sensitive play of light and shadow, with highlights dappled thoughtfully and selectively over the bushy boughs of the trees in the upper register; and above all the still, quiet and inviting atmosphere, are all reminiscent of a canvas of larger dimensions in the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest.