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拍品專文
Andreas Schelfhout was internationally acclaimed for his beautiful detailed renderings of winter landscapes, while also his sweeping panoramic summer landscapes and elegant beach scenes with figures were widely admired. From 1930 onwards, his brushwork increasingly loosened up, and around 1940-45 his artistic style and technique had come to full maturity with the perfect balance of composition, play of light, and extraordinary spatial depth and detailing, which are considered to be exemplary of the pinnacle of Dutch Romanticism.
These elements are convincingly reflected in the present lot, which moreover confirms his virtuosity still being present in his old age. This remarkably finely executed work is thought to be the last work Schelfhout ever painted, as the 1870 sale-catalogue mentions this painting to be the 'dernier tableau du maître'. This unequivocally provides the painting with a unique value. The present lot beautifully combines two pictorial elements, with the vast sheet of translucent ice on the right and the folliage and farmhouse on the left side. Secondly, he also couples the group of skating figures and a small crowd surrounding a koep-en-zopie in the distance, while carefully placing them against the figures on the foreground loading the cart behind the horse on the ice, all bathing in a subtle light and rendered with great natural quality. The perfectly balanced composition, superb brushwork and tranquility of this winter scene, shows his unsurpassed viruosity and competence again, while guiding the spectator's eye through the painting.
Already during his lifetime Schelfhout's work was well received by critics, which is also confirmed by the numerous Golden Medals on the annually held exhibition 'Tentoonstelling van Levende Meesters'. He has been highly sought after by international collectors ever since.
These elements are convincingly reflected in the present lot, which moreover confirms his virtuosity still being present in his old age. This remarkably finely executed work is thought to be the last work Schelfhout ever painted, as the 1870 sale-catalogue mentions this painting to be the 'dernier tableau du maître'. This unequivocally provides the painting with a unique value. The present lot beautifully combines two pictorial elements, with the vast sheet of translucent ice on the right and the folliage and farmhouse on the left side. Secondly, he also couples the group of skating figures and a small crowd surrounding a koep-en-zopie in the distance, while carefully placing them against the figures on the foreground loading the cart behind the horse on the ice, all bathing in a subtle light and rendered with great natural quality. The perfectly balanced composition, superb brushwork and tranquility of this winter scene, shows his unsurpassed viruosity and competence again, while guiding the spectator's eye through the painting.
Already during his lifetime Schelfhout's work was well received by critics, which is also confirmed by the numerous Golden Medals on the annually held exhibition 'Tentoonstelling van Levende Meesters'. He has been highly sought after by international collectors ever since.